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ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 
JOHN  T.  FARIS 


Of  the  progress  of  the  souls  of  men 

And  women  along  the  grand  roads  of  the  universe, 

All  other  progress  is  the  needed  emblem  and  sustenance. 

Forever  alive,  forever  forward, 
Stately,  solemn,  sad,  withdrawing, 
Baffled,  mad  turbulent,  feeble,  dissatisfied, 
Desperate,  proud,  fond,  sick,  accepted  by  men, 
Rejected  by  men, 
They  gol  they  go! 

—WALT  WHITMAN. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE 
PIONEERS 

ROMANCE,  TRAGEDY  AND  TRIUMPH 
OF  THE  PATH  OF  EMPIRE 

BY 
JOHN  T.  PARIS 

AUTHOR  OF  "REAL  STORIES  FROM  OUR 

HISTORY,"  "OLD  ROADS  OUT  OF 

PHILADELPHIA,"  "HISTORIC 

SHRINES  OF  AMERICA," 

ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  .  '  '  «\'  'V 

»  ;         •  .    •>    •  1      ->     «  J  •  °     •        •     «          » 


NEW  XSJr  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


•M 
X    ' 


COPYRIGHT,  I92O, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


HISTORY  I 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES    OF   AMERICA 


PREFACE 

IT  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  give  in  full  detail 
the  historical  background  of  the  successive  great  move 
ments  of  population  from  the  East  to  the  country  West  of 
the  Alleghenies;  this  ground  has  been  covered  by  authors 
whose  exhaustive  books  are  named  in  the  Bibliography. 

"On  the  Trail  of  the  Pioneers"  gives  glimpses  of  many 
of  these  great  movements,  the  routes  the  emigrants  took, 
and  the  sections  to  which  they  went.  The  endeavor  is  made 
to  answer  the  questions,  Who  were  the  emigrants?  How 
and  where  did  they  travel?  What  adventures  did  they 
have  by  the  way?  What  were  their  impressions  of  the 
country  through  which  they  passed?  What  did  they  do 
when  they  reached  their  destinations?  The  book  has  been 
written  because  the  author  felt  the  need  of  which  Claude  S. 
Larzelere,  in  a  paper  on  The  Teaching  of  Michigan  His 
tory,  wrote: 

We  talk  much  in  general  terms  in  our  American  History 
classes  about  the  westward  movement  of  population.  All 
too  seldom  do  we  take  actual  typical  cases  of  emigrants 
moving  to  the  West  by  way  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  by  the  Cumberland  Road  and  the  Ohio  River,  or  by 
other  roads,  bringing  out  the  actual  life  on  the  road. 

The  graphic  pictures  of  the  struggles  of  actual  emigrants 
emphasize  as  nothing  else  can  the  words  of  the  author  of 
A  Journey  on  the  Mississippi  River: 

The  West  is  now  a  phrase  of  somewhat  indefinite 
significance.  Not  very  long  ago  it  meant  Pittsburgh.  .  .  . 
Fifty  years  since,1  Cincinnati  was  on  the  verge  of  the  white 

1  Written  in  1847. 


43806G 


vi  PREFACE 

settlements.  ...  Go  to  St.  Louis  ...  and  you  seem  to  be 
still  as  far  from  this  point  of  the  compass  as  you  were  at  the 
beginning  of  your  journey.  Asl^  as  I  have  done,  the 
emigrant  who  is  trudging  his  weary  course  across  the  plains 
more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  the  city  of  Laclede 
where  he  is  going;  his  reply  is,  "To  the  West."  .  .  .  And 
now,  at  the  northern  pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  the 
49th  parallel,  and  at  the  southern  pass  in  the  same  range, 
leading  to  California,  the  same  response,  the  West,  the  ever 
lasting  West,  meets  the  ear. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  not  only  how  this  resistless  on 
rush  of  the  pioneers  gave  answer  to  the  prophecies  of 
pessimists  who 'declared  that  it  was  useless  to  think  of 
peopling  the  West  from  the  East,  but  also  how  the  emigra 
tion  brought  about  changes  in  the  boundaries  and  names 
of  new  states  which  optimistic  travelers  and  statesmen 
tried  to  forecast.  There  were  those  who  once  looked  for 
the  organization  of  such  states  as  Cumberland  and  Transyl 
vania  in  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio  river;  but  the  over 
whelming  growth  of  the  country  led  to  the  early  organiza 
tion  of  the  single  state  of  Kentucky.  Thomas  Jefferson 
was  a  member  of  a  committee  which,  in  1784,  recom 
mended  the  division  of  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  into 
states  to  be  called  Sylvania,  Michigania,  Chersonese, 
Metropotamia,  Illinoisa,  Saratoga,  Washington,  Polypo- 
tamia  and  Pelisipia,  but  in  consequence  of  the  emigrant  tide 
through  the  Pittsburgh  and  Buffalo  gateways  and  down  the 
Ohio,  the  boundaries  and,  in  most  cases,  the  names  of  the 
states  became  quite  different. 

The  fascinating  story  of  the  movements  that  improved 
on  the  plan  of  Jefferson's  committee,  and  went  a  long  way 
to  justify  the  hyperbole  of  Jean  Pierre  Brissot  de  Warville, 
"You  will  see  independent  America  contemplating  no  other 
limits  but  those  of  the  universe,"  is  sketched  in  this  volume. 

Full  use  has  been  made  of  the  records  of  early  travelers 
and  pioneers  which  are  described  in  the  Bibliography. 
Grateful  acknowledgment  is  made  for  the  use  of  copy- 


PREFACE  vii 

righted  material  to  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  publishers 
of  American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Conditions  by 
Ellen  Churchill  Semple;  to  Little,  Brown  and  Company, 
publishers  of  The  California  and  Oregon  Trail  by  Francis 
Parkman;  to  Lois  Kimball  Matthews,  author  of  The  Erie 
Canal  and  the  Settlement  of  the  West;  to  Yale  University 
Press,  publishers  of  A  Journey  to  Ohio  in  1810,  by  Margaret 
Dwight;  to  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  publishers  of  The 
Making  of  the  Ohio  Valley  States,  by  Samuel  Hopkins 
Adams,  and  Audubon  and  His  Journals ~,  by  Maria  R.  Audu- 
bon ;  to  Princeton  University  Press,  publishers  of  The  New 
Purchase,  by  Robert  Carlton;  to  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  pub 
lishers  of  The  Winning  of  the  West,  by  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

JOHN  T.  PARIS. 
Philadelphia,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  ONE:    THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP 
TO  KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE 

PAGE 

I    PREPARING  THE  WAY 15 

II    THROUGH  THE  GREAT  WILDERNESS 28 

III    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THREE  TRAVELERS 38 

CHAPTER  TWO:    THROUGH  THE  PITTSBURGH  AND 
WHEELING  GATEWAYS 

I    BRADDOCK'S  ROAD  AND  THE  NATIONAL  ROAD 51 

II    STRUGGLES  WITH  THE  ALLEGHENIES 58 

III    BY  STAGE,  BY  EMIGRANT  WAGON,  AND  ON  FOOT 79 

CHAPTER    THREE:      FLOATING    DOWN    THE    OHIO 
AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

I    IN  PERILS  OF  WATERS 97 

II    BY  FLATBOAT  AND  KEELBOAT 110 

III    FROM  ARK  TO  STEAMBOAT 125 

CHAPTER  FOUR:  FROM  NORTHERN  NEW  YORK 
AND  NEW  ENGLAND  TO  THE  WEST 

I    THE  LONG  ROAD  TO  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 139 

II    FROM  LAND  TO  WATER 153 

III    ALL  THE  WAY  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI 163 

CHAPTER  FIVE:    THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL 

I    THE  LURE  OF  GAIN 183 

II    FACING  FAMINE  AND  FIGHTING  INDIANS 189 

III    WHEN  THE  TRAIL  WAS  IN  ITS  GLORY 197 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  SIX:    THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

PAGE 

I    THE  WAGON  WHEELS  OF  WHITMAN      fc    .     ,     ...     .     .  205 

II     "TRAVEL!    TRAVEL!!    TRAVEL!!!"     .     .'    .     ...     .     .  218 

III  WITH  FRANCIS  PARKMAN  IN  THE  WEST      .......  229 

IV  LEARNING  BY  BITTER  EXPERIENCE   .     .     .....     .     .     .  236 

CHAPTER  SEVEN:    ACROSS  THE  PLAINS 
TO  CALIFORNIA 

I    A  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  TRAIL 251 

II     ACROSS  THE  DESERT  IN  SAFETY 262 

CHAPTER  EIGHT:    TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI 

I    WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 275 

II    BY  MEANS  OF  CORDELLE  AND  BRIDLE 283 

III    EARLY  STEAMBOATING  ON  THE  MISSOURI  .     .     ....     .294 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 305 

INDEX  .  313 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"I  ...  THINK  I  HEAR 
THE  SOUND  OF  THAT  ADVANCING  MULTITUDE 
WHICH  SOON  SHALL  FILL  THESE  DESERTS."  Frontispiece 

PAGE 

ON  THE  ROAD  IN  EARLY  DAYS        32 

EVANSVILLE,  INDIANA,  IN  EARLY  DAYS 32 

THE  OLD  FORT  AT  LEXINGTON,  BUILT  IN  1782 33 

CUMBERLAND  GAP,  TENNESSEE 33 

THE  FIRST  PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 64 

PlTTSBURG   IN    1790 64 

MARKER  ON  THE  WILDERNESS  ROAD 64 

TABLET  AT  THE  HOME  OF  MAJOR  ARTHUR  ST.  CLAIR,  NEAR  GREENS- 
BURG,  PENNSYLVANIA 65 

OLD  FORT  GUDDIS,  NEAR  UNIONTOWN,  PENNSYLVANIA  ....  65 

HENRY  CLAY  MONUMENT  AT  ELM  GROVE,  WEST  VIRGINIA     .     .  65 

FLOATING  DOWN  THE  RIVER 112 

GENERAL  PUTNAM  LANDING  AT  MARIETTA 112 

Two  SECTIONS  OF  THE  OHIO  RIVER 112 

OHIO  RIVER  FROM  THE  SUMMIT  OF  GRAVE  CREEK  MOUND      .     .113 

WABASH  RIVER,  NEAR  VINCENNES,  INDIANA 113 

MCCOLLOCH'S  DAM,  NEAR  WHEELING,  1777 113 

ON  THE  SCENT  OF  THE  EMIGRANTS       .     : 113 

FORTY  FORT  IN  1778 160 

ON  A  NEW  YORK  WATERWAY 160 

OLD  FORT  VAN  RENSSELAER,  CANAJOHARIE,  NEW  YORK    .     .     .  161 

CHICAGO  IN  1820 161 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  ALAMO 192 

MARKER  ON  THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL       .     •. 192 

WAGONS  PARKED  FOR  THE  NIGHT 193 

NEAR  FORT  DEFIANCE,  NEW  MEXICO 193 

CARAVAN  ON  THE  MARCH 224 

xi 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

WAGON  TRAIN  STAMPEDED  BY  WILD  HORSES       . .    .     .     .     .     .  224 

CROSSING  THE  PLAINS *     ....     .  225 

DONNER  MONUMENT,  DONNER  LAKE,  CALfroRNiA    .     .     .     .     .  256 

INSCRIPTION  ON  ROCK  OF  HELL  ROARING  CANYON,  UTAH  ...  256 

SAN  FRANCISCO  IN  NOVEMBER,  1848 257 

SAN  FRANCISCO  IN  NOVEMBER,  1849 .    V.   .     .  257 

BUFFALO  ON  THE  PRAIRIE 288 

INDIANS  HUNTING  THE  BUFFALO 288 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  BUFFALO  . 289 

"MADAM  CUFF"  AGAIN  APPEARED  .  289 


\ 


H.  F.  Martino,  Del. 


"I  ...  think  I  hear 
The  sound  of  that  advancing  multitude 
Which  soon  shall  fill  these  deserts.     From  the  ground 
Comes  up  the  laugh  of  children,  the  soft  voice 
Of  mafdems^and  tile  tfwefet  .lafid:  solemn  hymn 
Of  Sabbath  worshippers!1'  tTlia'low  of  herds 
Blends  wjth  the  riisjtftng  of  the  he&vy  grain 
Ovef^ ^hje'.daf.rfc.  brown  ;ftirr(Jws(i,  Ali  at  once 
A  fraehefViiid  sweeps'  Ity,1  and  breaks  my  dream, 
And  I  am  in  the  wilderness  alone." 

—William  Cullen  Bryant. 


CHAPTER  ONE:  THROUGH  CUMBERLAND  GAP 
TO  KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE 


PIONEERS!    O  PIONEERS! 

All  the  past  we  leave  behind, 

We  debouch  upon  a  newer,  mightier  world,  varied  world, 
Fresh  and  strong  the  world  we  seize,  world  of  labor  and  the 

march, 
Pioneers !  O  pioneers ! 

We  detachments  steady  throwing 

Down  the  edges,  through  the  passes,  up  the  mountain  steep, 
Conquering,  holding,  daring,  venturing  as  we  go  the  unknown 

ways, 
Pioneers !  O  pioneers ! 

We  primeval  forests  felling, 
We  the  rivers  stemming,  vexing  we  and  piercing  deep  the 

mines  within, 

We  the  surface  broad  surveying,  we  the  virgin  soil  upheaving, 
Pioneers!  O  pioneers! 

— WALT  WHITMAN. 


PREPARING  THE  WAY 

Fair  elbow-room  for  men  to  thrive  in! 

Wide  elbow-room  for  work  or  play! 
If  cities  follow,  racing  our  footsteps, 

Ever  to  westward  shall  point  our  way! 
Rude  though  our  life,  it  suits  our  spirit, 

And  new-born  States  in  future  years 
Shall   own  us   founders  of  a  nation, 

And  bless  the  hardy  pioneers. 

— Charles  Mackay. 

THERE  is  nothing  more  romantic  in  the  story  of  the  de 
velopment  of  the  United  States  than  the  records  of  the 
opening  up  of  the  great  country  between  the  western  bound 
aries  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  and  the  Mississippi 
river.  Inspiring  tales  of  the  adventures  of  daring  explorers 
and  picturesque  stories  of  the  struggles  and  triumphs  of 
hardy  emigrants  clamor  for  the  attention  of  those  who 
delve  into  the  early  history  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
Yet  the  pioneers  from  whose  journals  and  letters  most  of 
these  narratives  are  gleaned,  told  them  in  such  a  matter-of- 
fact  manner  that  sometimes  more  than  one  reading  is  neces 
sary  to  appreciate  the  magnificent  meaning  of  what  to  them 
was  a  commonplace  story.  The  pioneers  had  been  trained 
in  such  a  hard  school  that  they  did  not  falter  in  the  face  of 
obstacles  which,  to  the  average  man  of  to-day,  would  seem 
overwhelming.  They  had  heard  from  their  fathers  and 
grandfathers  of  the  conquest  of  the  wilderness  near  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  and  they  cast  eager  eyes  to  the  region 
beyond  the  mountains  whose  mysteries  they  longed  to  ex 
plore,  in  whose  fastnesses  they  dreamed  of  carving  out  a 
home. 

The  first  men  to  respond  to  the  appeal  of  the  unknown 

15 


16         '  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

lived  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  At  a  time  when  New 
York  had  made  little  growth  westward,  when  in  Pennsyl 
vania  there  was  yet  much  land  to  be  possessed  east  of  the 
Alleghenies,  the  sturdy  men  of  the  Old  Dominion  and  their 
neighbors  to  the  south  of  them  were  groaning  under  the 
necessity  of  obeying  the  proclamation  of  King  George,  made 
in  1763,  forbidding  surveys  or  patents  of  land  located  be 
yond  the  headwaters  of  streams  running  to  the  Atlantic.  It 
was  his  thought  that  the  surest  way  of  retaining  the  good 
will  of  the  Indians  beyond  the  mountains  was  to  leave  them 
in  undisturbed  possession  of  their  hunting  grounds. 

The  Virginians  and  the  Carolinians  thought  that  the 
king's  stand  was  too  cautious;  they  were  sure  they  could 
make  such  treaties  with  the  Indians  that  peaceful  emigra 
tion  would  be  possible  and  desirable.  But  they  held  them 
selves  in  check  until  1768,  when  some  of  them  joined  with 
representatives  of  colonies  farther  north  in  making  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  with  the  Iroquois  by  which  the  In 
dians  yielded  their  rights  to  the  region  that  corresponds, 
roughly,  to  the  present  state  of  Kentucky. 

Little  time  was  lost  in  taking  advantage  of  this  treaty, 
which,  it  was  felt,  annulled  the  restrictive  proclamation  of 
the  king,  so  far  as  these  lands  were  concerned.  In  1769  a 
few  emigrants  found  their  way  down  the  valley  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Allegheny  mountains  and  into  the 
interior  wilderness.  To  Joseph  Martin  and  his  companions 
belongs  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  of  the  vast  com 
pany  of  emigrants  that  made  homes  in  the  hunting  grounds 
of  the  Indians.  Their  settlement  was  made  in  Powell's 
Valley,  between  the  Cumberland  and  Powell  mountains. 

Some  of  this  venturesome  advance  guard  soon  paid  the 
price  so  often  exacted  of  the  pioneer;  Indians  fell  on  the 
camp  and  made  known  their  anger  because  of  the  settlers' 
failure  to  observe  the  pledge  of  the  king  as  to  settlements 
in  their  domain.  These  Indians  were  Cherokees,  who  re 
fused  to  recognize  the  Fort  Stanwix  treaty  because  they 
claimed  a  portion  of  the  lands  ceded  by  the  Iroquois. 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    17 

This  last  hindrance  to  settlement  was  removed  on  Oc 
tober  1 8,  1770,  when  Virginia  made  a  treaty  with  the 
Cherokees,  gaining  their  recognition  of  the  right  of  emi 
grants  to  settle  in  the  region  in  dispute. 

The  year  before  this  treaty  was  made,  Daniel  Boone, 
the  most  picturesque  character  of  pioneer  days  in  Kentucky, 
was  one  of  a  company  of  six  who  made  an  exploring  expedi 
tion  into  the  new  land. 

This  was  not  Boone's  first  experience  of  the  Kentucky 
wilderness,  however.  His  interest  in  the  region  dated  from 
his  meeting  with  John  Finley,  when  the  two  men  were  on 
their  way  with  Braddock  to  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Finley  told 
Boone  of  his  hunting  experiences  in  the  lands  south  of  the 
Ohio.  His  tales  of  Kentucky  fired  Boone's  imagination, 
and  the  two  men  planned  to  go  there  as  soon  as  the  trip  to 
Fort  Du  Quesne  was  ended.  Finley  explained  how  easy  it 
would  be  to  travel  from  North  Carolina  to  Kentucky  along 
an  Indian  trail  that  led  to  Cumberland  Gap,  and  then  into 
the  desired  land. 

But  it  was  not  until  1760  that  Boone  was  able  to  go  to 
what  is  now  western  Tennessee.  Here,  on  the  banks  of 
what  is  known  as  Boone's  Creek,  there  stood  until  a  few 
years  ago  a  beech  tree  on  whose  bark  was  the  inscription, 
evidently  cut  by  the  hunting  knife  of  the  pioneer,  "D  Boon 
cilled  a  bar  on  this  tree  in  the  year  1760." 

The  trip  of  1 769  was  made  in  company  with  John  Finley, 
according  to  the  program  mapped  out  years  before.  The 
journey  of  the  six  men  who  made  up  the  party  was  com 
pleted  in  safety.  Then  one  day  the  men  were  taken  captive 
by  the  Indians,  and  their  camp  was  plundered  of  a  large 
store  of  furs,  provisions  and  ammunition.  Their  horses 
also  were  taken.  Before  the  hunters  were  released  they 
were  warned  to  keep  away  from  the  Indians*  land  on  pain 
of  death. 

Boone  and  his  brother-in-law  stole  back  into  the  Indians' 
camp  and  secured  four  horses,  but  they  were  pursued  and 
captured.  Seven  days  later  the  two  men  managed  to  escape 


18          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

while  their  captors  were  asleep.  A  little  later  they  overtook 
their  companions,  who  had  turned  homeward. 

In  the  meantime  Squire  Boone,  "Daniel's  brother,  had 
come  from  Virginia,  according  to  previous  arrangement, 
with  fresh  horses,  provisions  and  ammunition.  Daniel  at 
once  proposed  to  take  this  new  equipment  and  return  to 
Kentucky.  Several  of  the  company  volunteered  to  go  with 
him,  but  others  decided  to  go  back  across  the  mountains. 

Boone  and  his  companions  continued  their  explorations 
and  their  hunting  until  one  of  the  four  was  killed  by  In 
dians,  and  another  left  for  North  Carolina.  When  pro 
visions  were  low  Squire  Boone  took  the  furs  they  had  gath 
ered  and  returned  home,  while  Daniel  pushed  on  as  far  as 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  at  the  present  site  of  Louisville. 
He  hoped  to  find  a  place  to  take  his  family. 

But  before  Boone  was  able  to  return  with  his  family  to 
Kentucky  other  settlers,  attracted  by  the  stories  told  by 
him,  pushed  on  across  the  mountains.  The  character  of  the 
reports  that  enticed  them  may  be  judged  by  this  extract  from 
Boone's  autobiography,  which,  while  it  must  have  been 
edited  vigorously,  is  clearly  a  true  representation  of  the 
Kentucky  hunter's  enthusiastic  utterances: 

We  found  every  where  abundance  of  wild  beasts  of  all 
sorts,  through  this  vast  forest.  The  buffalo  were  more  fre 
quent  than  I  have  ever  seen  cattle  in  the  settlements,  brows 
ing  on  the  leaves  of  the  cane,  or  cropping  the  herbage  on 
those  extensive  plains,  fearless,  because  ignorant  of  the 
violence  of  man.  Nature  was  here  a  series  of  wonders  and 
a  fund  of  delight.  Here  she  displayed  her  ingenuity  and 
industry  in  a  variety  of  flowers  and  fruits,  beautifully  col 
ored,  elegantly  shaped  and  charmingly  flavored;  and  we 
were  diverted  with  innumerable  animals  presenting  them 
selves  perpetually  to  our  view. 

At  another  point  he  wrote : 

Just  at  the  close  of  day  the  gentle  gales  retired  .  .  .  not 
a  breeze  shook  the  most  tremulous  leaf.  I  had  gained  the 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP     19 

summit  of  a  commanding  ridge,  and,  looking  around  with 
astonishing  delight,  beheld  the  ample  plains,  the  beauteous 
tract  below.  On  the  other  hand  I  surveyed  the  famous  Ohio 
that  rolled  in  silent  dignity.  ...  At  a  vast  distance  I  be 
held  the  mountains  lift  their  venerable  brows  and  penetrate 
the  clouds. 


The  objection  has  been  made  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  see  the  Ohio  and  the  mountains  at  the  same  time,  but 
probably  Boone  allowed  himself  a  poet's  license  when  he 
made  some  of  his  descriptions! 

One  of  those  who  were  lured  by  such  reports  was  Jacob 
Brown,  who,  in  1771,  settled  on  the  Nolichucky,  a  branch 
of  the  Holston.  The  same  year  James  Robertson  took  six 
teen  families  to  the  Watauga,  another  branch  of  the  Hol 
ston.  In  1772  Robertson  was  instrumental  in  combining 
the  settlers  of  the  Watauga,  Carter's,  and  the  Nolichucky 
valleys,  into  the  Watauga  Association,  organized  for  self- 
government,  with  written  articles  of  agreement.  In  1776 
the  association  asked  to  be  taken  under  the  care  of  North 
Carolina,  as  the  District  of  Washington. 

Their  hopes  of  benefits  to  be  received  from  North  Caro 
lina  were  not  realized,  and  in  1784  the  people  organized  a 
government  of  their  own.  In  1785  they  asked  Congress  for 
permission  to  set  up  an  independent  state,  covering  a  large 
part  of  Kentucky. 

Greenville  was  selected  as  a  capital,  and  an  assembly  met 
there  in  a  log  cabin.  The  delegates,  representing,  it  is 
thought,  about  twenty-five  thousand  people,  chose  a  gov 
ernor,  made  arrangements  for  a  currency  of  fox  and  mink 
skins,  and  decided  to  ask  Congress  for  recognition  as  a 
state.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  asked  if  they  might  adopt 
his  name.  Congress  considered  this  a  secession  of  a  part 
of  the  parent  state,  and  the  petition  for  recognition  was  not 
granted. 

There  followed  a  period  when  the  little  would-be  com 
monwealth  was  torn  by  factions,  but  it  did  not  come  to 


20          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

its  disappointing  end  until  it  had  continued  for  a  number 
of  years  to  be  a  little  republic  beyond  the  mountains  and  had 
paved  the  way  for  the  greater  commonwealth  that  was  to 
receive  the  recognition  of  the  United  States. 

Two  years  after  the  settlement  on  the  Nolichucky  of 
Jacob  Brown,  which  became  a  part  of  the  sturdy  Watauga 
Association,  Daniel  Boone  made  a  further  attempt  to  enter 
Kentucky.  Of  this  he  wrote  as  follows: 

I  sold  my  farm  on  the  Yadkin  and  what  goods  we  could 
not  carry  with  us,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  September, 
1773,  bade  a  farewell  to  our  friends  and  proceeded  on  our 
journey  to  Kentucky,  in  company  with  five  families  more, 
and  forty  men  that  joined  us  in  Powell's  Valley,  which  is 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  now  settled  parts  of 
Kentucky.  The  promising  beginning  was  soon  overcast 
with  a  cloud  of  adversity,  for  on  the  tenth  day  of  October 
the  rear  of  our  company  was  attacked  by  a  number  of  In 
dians,  who  killed  six,  and  wounded  one  more.  Of  these  my 
eldest  son  was  one  that  fell  in  the  action.  Though  we  de 
fended  ourselves,  and  repulsed  the  enemy,  yet  this  unhappy 
affair  scattered  our  cattle,  brought  us  into  extereme  diffi 
culty,  and  so  discouraged  the  whole  company  that  we  re 
treated  to  settlements  on  the  Clinch  river. 

Boone,  chafing  at  the  inaction,  welcomed  the  call  of  the 
governor  of  Virginia  for  two  good  woodsmen  who  would 
dash  into  Kentucky  by  the  Cumberland  Gap  route,  to  warn 
several  surveying  parties  to  be  on  their  guard  against  In 
dians  who  were  rising  to  prevent  the  passage  of  settlers  to 
the  West.  In  company  with  Michael  Stoner  he  penetrated 
far  into  Kentucky  in  July,  1774.  Two  months  later  the 
men  returned,  having  done  their  work. 

Boone's  next  great  opportunity  came  when,  on  March  17, 
1775,  at  Sycamore  Shoals,  on  the  Watauga,  Colonel  Rich 
ard  Henderson  and  a  number  of  friends  from  North  Caro 
lina  made  a  treaty  with  the  Cherokees  for  the  possession  of 
the  lands  bounded  by  the  Kentucky,  Holston,  Cumberland 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    21 

and  Ohio  rivers.  Merchandise  valued  at  ten  thousand 
pounds  was  exchanged  for  eighteen  million  acres  of  land. 

Steps  were  taken  at  once  to  make  easier  the  settlement 
of  the  country  thus  secured,  which  Colonel  Henderson  and 
his  companions  called  Transylvania.  The  pioneers  realized 
the  truth  of  the  words  spoken  to  Boone  by  a  chief  of  the 
Cherokees,  "Brother,  we  have  given  you  a  fair  land,  but  I 
believe  you  will  have  much  trouble  in  settling  it." 

No  time  was  lost  by  the  new  owners  of  Transylvania  in 
giving  to  Boone  the  commission  to  open  a  road  for  the 
emigrants  who  would  be  attracted  to  the  country.  Boone 
accepted  the  tremendous  commission  with  no  more  anxiety 
than  a  carpenter  would  show  over  an  order  to  build  a 
wooden  sidewalk.  He  knew  the  ways  the  buffaloes  took 
in  their  migration,  and  he  had  followed  the  paths  of  the 
Indians.  Equipped  with  this  knowledge  and  his  own  un 
erring  instinct,  and  accompanied  by  thirty  hardy  companions, 
he  made  a  way  back  to  Cumberland  Gap,  then  on  through 
the  wilderness.  The  men  cut  the  trees,  they  burned  the 
undergrowth,  and  they  fought  the  Indians  as  they  went. 

From  the  Gap  the  road  led  along  the  Warriors'  Path,  a 
mere  trace  used  by  the  Indians  in  their  journeys  from  their 
towns  on  the  Ohio  and  the  Scioto  to  their  hunting  grounds 
in  the  South.  After  following  this  path  for  some  fifty 
miles,  the  roadmakers  turned  to  the  left  and  went  on  along 
a  buffalo  trace.  At  length  they  reached  their  goal,  on  the 
Kentucky  river,  and  began  the  erection  of  a  group  of  cabins 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  settlers  who  were  to  come 
later  under  Henderson's  leadership. 

An  admirer  who,  in  1916,  went  over  the  route  taken 
by  Boone,  said  in  appreciation  of  him: 

V 

He  took  his  life  in  his  hands  and  literally  laid  it  at  the 
feet  of  his  fellows.  Boone  dared  the  frowning  menace  of 
great  Pinnacle  Rock,  the  most  forbidding,  somber  mass  of 
rock  east  of  the  Rockies;  he  forded  the  treacherous  Rock- 
castle,  all  the  while  in  danger  of  attacks  from  the  red- 


22  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

skinned  allies  of  England,  and  westward  by  hard-won  miles 
until  at  last  he  made  the  wonderful,  fertile  blue-grass  lands 
more  accessible  to  the  emigrant.  » 

A  Kentucky  historian  says  of  the  achievement : 

The  road  marked  out  was  at  best  but  a  trace.  No  vehicle 
of  any  sort  passed  over  it  before  it  was  made  a  wagon  road 
by  action  of  the  state  legislature  in  1795.  The  location  of 
the  road,  however,  is  a  monument  to  the  skill  of  Boone  as  a 
practical  engineer  and  surveyor.  It  required  a  mind  of  far 
more  than  ordinary  caliber  to  locate  through  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  of  mountain  wilderness  a  way  of  travel 
wrrch,  for  a  hundred  years,  has  remained  practically  un 
changed,  and  upon  which  the  state  has  stamped  its  approval 
by  the  expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money. 

The  following  year  Colonel  Henderson  and  Richard 
Logan,  with  many  others,  went  along  the  Wilderness  Road 
and  saw  for  themselves  what  good  work  Boone  had  done. 
After  the  party  had  passed  Cumberland  Gap,  Henderson 
and  Logan  had  a  disagreement,  and  there  separated.  Hen 
derson  went  on  with  his  followers  to  Boonesborough,  while 
Logan  turned  to  the  left  to  the  Crab  Orchard  and  on  to  the 
site  of  what  is  now  Danville,  on  the  road  to  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio.  He  was  not  cutting  a  new  road,  however,  for 
Boone  had  gone  this  way  in  1773,  when  he  went  to  the 
Ohio  for  the  governor  of  Virginia  after  his  family  party 
had  been  halted  by  the  attack  of  the  Indians. 

Before  long,  representatives  of  three  other  settlements  in 
the  Transylvania  territory  gathered  at  Boonesborough  and 
formed  a  House  of  Delegates  for  the  government  of  the 
new  colony.  Laws  were  made,  and  the  future  of  the  Com 
pany  looked  bright.  It  was  even  thought  that  Transylvania 
might  be  admitted  as  the  fourteenth  colony  in  the  Revolu 
tionary  Union.  But  the  opposition  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  which  claimed  the  land  bought  from  the  Cher- 
okees  by  the  Company,  the  reluctance  of  Congress  to  sanc 
tion  the  pretensions  of  the  Company,  and  internal  dissen- 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    23 

sions  among  the  immigrants  who  found  fault  with  what 
they  called  the  avarice  of  Henderson  and  his  associates, 
wrecked  the  company. 

While  the  vain  attempt  to  secure  Congressional  action 
was  being  made,  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  conducted  the 
brilliant  campaign  of  1777  against  Kaskaskia  and  Vin- 
cennes,  was  serving  as  a  surveyor  for  the  Ohio  Company. 
He  had  not  been  in  Kentucky  long  when  he  felt  that  some 
thing-  should  be  done  about  the  Transylvania  Company's 
claim.  Emigrants  who  were  coming  into  the  country  by 
way  of  the  Ohio  were  perplexed  to  know  to  whom  the  lands 
to  the  south  of  the  Kentucky  river  belonged.  Had  they  a 
real  right  to  the  country,  or  did  Virginia  intend  to  exercise 
control  over  the  region?  On  June  6,  1776,  Clark  called  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Harrodsburg,  to  consider  what 
should  be  done,  and  was  appointed  one  of  two  delegates  to 
the  Virginia  Legislature  to  present  the  matter. 

The  journey  to  Williamsburg  was  difficult.  The  season 
was  unusually  wet,  the  roads  were  muddy,  and  there  was 
constant  danger  from  Indians.  After  a  time  one  of  the 
horses  was  lost,  and  Clark  walked  until  his  feet  were  blis 
tered  and  sore.  Years  later  he  said  he  suffered  more  tor 
ment  on  this  trip  than  he  had  suffered  before  or  since. 

Finally  the  two  men  reached  Williamsburg,  rejoicing 
that  they  could  soon  perform  their  errand.  But,  to  their 
dismay,  they  learned  that  the  legislature  had  adjourned. 

Clark  sought  an  interview  with  the  governor,  Patrick 
Henry,  and  asked  for  a  grant  of  five  hundred  pounds  to 
buy  powder  for  the  use  of  the  settlers  in  Kentucky  in  de 
fending  themselves  against  the  Indians.  When  there  was 
delay  in  furnishing  the  powder,  he  urged  that  "a  country 
which  is  not  worth  defending  is  not  worth  claiming."  These 
words  proved  effective,  for  Virginia  intended  to  assert  the 
right  to  Kentucky,  against  the  Transylvania  Company  and 
all  other  claimants. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  Clark  and  his  as 
sociates  brought  about  the  organization  of  Kentucky  as  a 


24          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

county  of  Virginia.  Henderson's  title  to  the  lands  bought 
from  the  Indians  was  denied,  but  in  recognition  of  his  serv 
ices  in  promoting  settlement  and  opening  the  Wilderness 
Road  he  was  given  a  tract  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
at  the  mouth  of  Green  river. 

Boone,  the  real  hero  of  the  Wildernes  Road,  became  a 
leader  in  the  fight  to  save  the  Kentucky  settlers  from  the 
Indians,  who  were  encouraged  in  their  attacks  by  the  Brit 
ish,  the  holders  of  the  forts  at  St.  Louis,  Kaskaskia,  Vin- 
cennes  and  Detroit.  The  Indians  attacked  the  fort  at 
Boonesborough  several  times  in  1776  and  1777,  but  were 
repulsed. 

In  February,  1778,  the  defenders  of  the  fort  were  de 
prived  of  their  leader  for  a  season.  With  thirty  settlers 
Boone  had  gone  to  the  lower  Blue  Lick  to  gather  a  supply 
of  salt  sufficient  to  last  during  a  possible  siege.  The  party 
was  about  to  return  to  the  fort  when  a  warband  of 
Shawnees  captured  Boone. 

His  captors  took  him  to  their  camp,  where  he  found  a 
large  party  of  warriors.  The  demand  was  made  that  he 
lead  them  to  his  companions.  Naturally  he  did  not  wish  to 
do  this,  but  when  he  learned  that  the  party  was  on  the  way 
to  attack  Boonesborough,  he  decided  to  comply  with  the 
demand.  He  understood  savage  nature  well  enough  to 
foresee  that  if  they  had  thirty  captives,  they  would  post 
pone  their  attack  on  the  settlement  until  they  could  take 
their  men  in  triumph  to  Detroit  and  secure  the  liberal  re 
ward  offered  by  the  British.  Later  he  was  tried  by  court- 
martial  for  this  betrayal  of  his  companions,  but  the  court 
approved  his  defense  that  it  was  better  that  thirty  men 
should  go  into  captivity  than  that  a  settlement  should  be 
destroyed. 

The  journey  to  Detroit  in  the  depth  of  winter  proved 
difficult  and  dangerous.  Intense  cold  and  heavy  snows 
interfered  with  game  supplies.  Finally  some  of  the  horses 
and  dogs  were  killed  for  food.  Later  many  were  eager  to 
kill  the  prisoners  by  torture.  Fifty-nine  Shawnees  voted  to 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    25 

burn  the  captives  at  the  stake,  but  fortunately  sixty-one 
voted  to  save  them  for  the  reward. 

During  the  journey  the  Indians  became  so  fond  of  Boone 
that  they  told  him  they  wished  to  adopt  him  into  the  tribe. 
In  vain  Governor  Hamilton,  the  British  commander  at 
Detroit,  offered  one  hundred  pounds  for  Boone's  release; 
he  wished  to  use  him  as  a  scout.  Boone  was  taken  to  the 
Shawnee  village  at  Chillicothe,  in  Ohio,  and  there  adopted 
by  Chief  Black  Fish. 

He  pretended  to  like  the  life  at  the  Indian  camp,  but 
he  was  only  waiting  for  a  chance  to  escape.  The  Shawnees, 
fearing  that  he  might  leave  them,  were  determined  that  he 
should  not  secure  a  supply  of  powder  and  bullets;  they 
know  that  he  would  not  dare  to  enter  the  trackless  forest 
unarmed.  Careful  account  was  kept  of  the  ammunition 
furnished  him  when  he  went  on  hunting  expeditions,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  return  all  for  which  he  could  not  give 
account.  His  cunning  was  greater  than  that  of  the  Indians, 
for  he  managed  to  cut  bullets  in  half  and  use  small  charges 
of  powder  when  after  small  game.  In  this  manner  he  laid 
by  a  small  store  of  lead  and  powder. 

When  he  had  been  a  prisoner  for  four  months,  his 
curiosity  was  aroused  by  the  coming  into  camp  of  hun 
dreds  of  savages  in  war-paint.  By  this  time  he  understood 
more  of  the  Shawnee  language  than  he  was  willing  to  own, 
so  he  had  little  difficulty  in  learning  the  purposes  of  the 
war  party.  They  were  planning  an  immediate  attack  on 
Boonesborough. 

He  did  not  hesitate  an  instant  in  making  his  decision. 
His  people  must  be  warned  at  once,  and  no  one  could  carry 
the  warning  but  himself.  He  knew  that  recapture  was  al 
most  certain,  yet  he  was  willing  to  run  the  risk. 

The  story  of  the  journey  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
to  Boonesborough  is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  tales  of 
pioneer  days.  Early  on  the  morning  of  June  16,  1778,  he 
asked  leave  to  spend  the  day  in  hunting.  As  soon  as  he 
was  out  of  sight  of  camp,  he  turned  toward  Kentucky.  All 


26          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

his  woodcraft  was  called  into  play  to  deceive  those  whom 
he  knew  would  soon  be  on  his  track.  He  did  not  dare  to 
shoot  game,  lest  he  betray  his  whereabouts. 

At  last  he  reached  the  Ohio.  Unfortunately  the  river 
was  in  flood,  and  he  was  not  a  good  swimmer.  Discovering 
an  old  canoe,  he  crossed  the  stream.  Then  he  renewed  his 
precautions.  He  could  not  use  his  gun,  for  he  feared  to 
betray  himself  to  possible  pursuers.  For  three  days  he 
lived  on  roots  and  raw  meat,  but  on  the  third  day  he  ven- 
turned  to  shoot  a  buffalo.  A  day  or  two  later  he  entered 
Boonesborough,  torn  and  bleeding,  and  looking  the  specter 
the  people  took  him  for. 

Two  months  later  he  led  in  the  defense  of  the  fort 
against  four  hundred  and  fifty  Indians.  Thus  he  cooper 
ated  in  the  saving  of  Kentucky  with  George  Rogers  Clark, 
who  led  the  successful  expedition  against  Kaskaskia  and 
Vincennes. 

After  the  Revolutionary  war  he  moved  on  farther  into 
the  wilderness.  Later  he  went  to  Maysville,  where  he 
opened  a  tavern  and  store.  Still  later,  when  he  moved  to 
Point  Pleasant,  in  western  Virginia,  he  was  elected  to  the 
Virginia  Assembly  for  the  third  time,  having  previously 
been  a  member  from  Boonesborough  and  from  Maysville. 

In  1796,  when  the  Kentucky  Legislature  proposed  to  im 
prove  the  Wilderness  Road  for  wagon  travel,  Boone  wrote 
to  Governor  Shelby: 

Sir,  after  my  best  Respts  to  your  Excellency  and  famyly, 
I  wish  to  inform  you  that  I  have  sum  intention  of  under 
taking  this  New  Rode  that  is  to  be  cut  through  the  Wilder 
ness,  and  I  think  my  Self  intitled  to  the  ofer  of  the  Bisness 
as  I  first  Marked  out  that  Rode  in  March  1775  and  Never 
rec'd  anything  for  my  trubel  and  Sepose  I  am  no  Statesman 
I  am  a  Woodsman  and  think  My  Self  as  Capable  of  Mark 
ing  and  Cutting  that  Rode  as  any  other  man.  Sir  if  you 
think  with  Me  I  would  thank  you  to  wright  me  a  line  by 
the  post  the  first  oportuneaty  and  he  Will  Lodge  it  at  Mr. 
John  Milers  on  hinkston  fork  as  I  wish  to  know  Where  and 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    27 

When  it  is  to  be  Laat  (let)  So  that  I  may  atend  at  the 
time  I  am  Deer  Sir  your  very  omble  sarvent. 

DANIEL  BOONE 

But  the  contract  was  given  to  others,  to  Boone's  great 
disappointment. 

The  first  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  the  Wilder 
ness  Road  was  formed  in  1792.  One  hundred  and  four 
men  who  agreed  that  something  should  be  done  wrote  their 
names  on  a  subscription  list  which  is  one  of  the  valued  rec 
ords  of  the  Kentucky  Historical  Society.  These  subscrip 
tions  ranged  from  three  shillings  to  three  pounds. 

At  once  many  men  were  set  to  work  on  the  road — wood 
cutters,  surveyors,  provision  carriers,  and  corn  grinders, 
among  others.  These  men  received  two  shillings  and  six 
pence  a  day.  The  work  lasted  twenty-two  days,  and  was 
completed  in  the  summer  of  1792. 

In  1793,  1794  and  1795  the  legislature  passed  acts  for 
the  improvement  of  sections  of  the  road.  In  1797  pro 
vision  was  made  for  the  erection  of  a  toll  gate.  Then  the 
road  took  the  name  of  "The  Wilderness  Turnpike,"  though 
it  was  never  in  those  days  a  turnpike  in  the  proper  sense. 
To-day,  when  the  Lincoln  Highway  follows  it  for  ninety- 
eight  miles,  it  has  a  right  to  the  name.  This  stretch  of  the 
road  is  called,  very  properly,  "Boone  Way." 

Filson,  the  first  historian  of  Kentucky,  in  his  rare  volume 
published  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  in  1784,  gave  a  map 
of  the  road  which  he  called  'The  Road  from  the  Old  Settle 
ments  in  Virginia  to  Kentuckee  thro'  the  Great  Wilder 
ness." 


II.    THROUGH  THE  GREAT  WILDERNESS 

Here    once    Boone    trod — the    hardy   pioneer — 
The  only  white  man  in  the  wilderness; 
Oh,  how  he  loved  alone  to  hunt  the  deer, 
Alone  at  eve  his  simple  meal  to  dress; 
No  mark  upon  the  tree,  nor  print  nor  track, 
To  lead  him  forward  or  to  guide  him  back; 
He  roved  the  forest,  king  by  main  and  might, 
And  looked  up  to  the  sky  and  shaped  his  course  aright. 

— Frederick  W.  Thomas. 

OVER  the  famous  Wilderness  Road  the  emigrants  found 
their  way  by  scores  and  by  hundreds,  during  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  after  the  war  was  over  their  numbers  became 
greater  than  ever.  Imlay,  an  early  traveler,  said  in  the 
volume  he  wrote  about  America :  "I  have  seen  upwards  of 
ten  thousand  emigrants  to  arrive  in  the  single  state  of 
Kentucky  within  a  year,  and  from  four  to  ten  thousand  in 
several  other  years.  A  large  proportion  of  these  Kentucky 
emigrants  went  by  Boone  road,  as  well  as  the  emigrants  to 
Tennessee." 

Following  this  route  to  Tennessee,  James  Robertson,  who 
had  been  prominent  in  the  organization  of  the  Watauga  As 
sociation,  went,  in  1779,  with  his  son  to  the  head  of  the 
Cumberland  and  made  a  new  settlement  which  he  called 
Nashborough,  later  Nashville.  A  few  months  later  Colonel 
Donelson,  accompanied  by  several  hundred  men,  women 
and  children,  went  in  thirty  boats  down  the  Tennessee,  up 
the  Ohio  and  up  the  Cumberland,  to  Robertson's  settle 
ment.  One  of  those  in  the  party  later  became  the  wife  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Nashborough, 
Donelson  and  Robertson  joined  others  in  forming  an  asso 
ciation  for  self-government,  similar  to  the  Watauga  Asso- 

28 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    29 

elation,  of  which  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty-six 
members. 

Imlay,  who  wrote  in  1793  concerning  the  Wilderness 
Road  and  Kentucky,1  *  told  of  the  sources  of  the  emigration 
to  the  new  country : 

Emigration  to  this  country  was  mostly  from  the  back 
parts  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  North 
Carolina,  until  1784;  in  which  year  many  officers  who  had 
served  in  the  American  army  during  the  late  war  came  out 
with  their  families;  several  families  came  also  from  Eng 
land,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  York,  and  the  New  Eng 
land  States.  The  country  soon  began  to  be  chequered  after 
that  sera  with  genteel  men,  which  operated  both  upon  the 
minds  and  actions  of  the  back  woods  people,  who  con 
stituted  the  first  emigrants. 

A  suggestive  record  2  tells  of  a  company  of  the  early  emi 
grants,  made  up  of  five  men  and  their  families.  There 
was  one  horse  in  the  equipment  of  the  party  that  "was  com 
pelled  to  carry  on  his  back  what,  with  much  more  ease  and 
convenience  to  himself  and  owner,  can  now  be  conveyed  by 
means  of  wagons,  but  the  latter  could  not  be  used  on  the 
trace  at  that  time." 

That  a  horse  under  such  circumstances  might  carry  the 
maximum  load, 

the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  apply  to  a  pack-saddle 
maker. .  .  .  The  pack  saddles  being  procured,  the  horse  was 
loaded  with  such  articles  of  household  furniture  and  utensils 
as  were  needful  for  the  journey  and  for  making  the  neces 
sary  improvements  in  the  new  country.  .  .  .  The  feather 
beds  were  snugly  rolled  up,  each  one  by  itself.  Two  of 
these  were  fastened  together  by  ropes  and  placed  length 
wise  on  the  horse,  one  on  each  side ;  forming  something  like 
a  cradle  immediately  over  the  horse's  back,  affording  quite 
a  convenient  place  in  which  to  deposit  the  smaller  children. 

*  Notes  will  be  found  in  a  group  at  the  close  of  each  chapter. 


30          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Another  mode  of  conveying  the  little  ones  was  by  swinging 
across  a  gentle  pack  horse  two  large  and  properly  con 
structed  baskets,  in  each  of  which  were  placed  a  pair  of 
children,  of  a  size  and  weight  to  form  a  proper  balance.  .  .  . 
Some  care  was,  however,  necessary  to  guard  the  animals 
thus  loaded  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  nests  of  yellow 
jackets,  which  were  numerous  along  the  trace  in  the  fall 
of  the  year.  In  occasionally  coming  in  contact  with  those 
nests,  the  horse  would  sometimes  relieve  himself  of  a  part 
or  the  whole  of  his  load,  in  the  exertions  to  get  rid  of  these 
tormenting  insects. 

A  description  3  of  the  pack  saddle  of  the  pioneer  gives  an 
even  better  idea  of  the  necessary  bit  of  equipment.  It  was 

a  rude  contrivance  made  of  the  forked  branch  of  a  tree  in 
keeping  with  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  times.  When 
fastened  upon  a  horse  it  became  the  receptacle  of  the  goods 
and  chattels  to  be  transported.  Thus  were  carried  pro 
visions  for  the  journey  and  the  household  stuff  and  utensils 
needed  to  make  life  tolerable  when  the  journey  was  ended 
and  the  place  of  residence  selected. 

The  pack  had  to  have  a  particular  shape  and  the  branch 
of  a  tree  which  could  be  made  into  a  saddle  was  an  at 
tractive  object.  It  is  related  that  an  early  preacher  once 
paused  in  his  Sunday  service  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the 
top  of  a  tree.  He  said :  "I  want  to  remark  right  here,  that 
yonder  is  one  of  the  best  forks  for  a  pack  saddle  I  ever  saw 
in  the  woods.  When  services  are  over  we  will  get  it." 

F.  A.  Michaux,4  another  early  traveler,  told  how  the 
users  of  these  pack  saddles  got  together: 

Those  who  emigrated  .  .  .  went  to  Block  House,  situated 
in  Holston,  westward  of  the  mountains,  and  as  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  did  not  furnish  them  with  an 
escort,  they  waited  at  this  place  till  they  were  sufficiently 
numerous  to  pass  in  safety  through  the  wilderness,  an  un 
inhabited  space  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  which  they 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP  31 

had  to  travel  over  before  they  arrived  at  Crab  Orchard,  the 
first  post  occupied  by  whites. 

East  bound  travelers  on  the  road  adopted  the  same  pre 
cautions.  When  a  man  wished  to  go  to  Virginia  or  eastern 
Kentucky  he  would  watch  for  an  advertisement  in  one  of 
the  papers  of  the  pioneers  giving  a  message  like  this,  which 
appeared  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette  of  April  12,  1788: 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  a  company  will  meet  at  the 
Crab  Orchard  on  Sunday  the  4th  day  of  May,  to  go  through 
the  wilderness,  and  to  set  out  on  the  5th,  at  which  time  most 
of  the  Delegates  to  the  State  Convention  will  go. 

On  May  3,  1788,  the  same  paper  announced: 

A  large  company  will  meet  at  the  Crab  Orchard  on  Sun 
day,  the  25th  of  May,  in  order  to  make  an  early  start  on 
Monday,  the  26th,  through  the  wilderness  for  the  old  settle 
ment. 

On  November  I,  1788,  the  readers  of  the  Gazette  found 
this  notice: 


A  large  company  will  meet  at  the  Crab  Orchard  the 
of  November  in  order  to  start  the  next  day  through  the 
wilderness.  As  it  is  very  dangerous  on  account  of  the  In 
dians,  it  is  hoped  each  person  will  go  well  armed. 

In  an  anniversary  address5  Chief  Justice  Robertson  of 
Kentucky  gave  what  he  called  an  imperfect  description  of 
the  pilgrimage  of  his  own  father  and  mother  : 

An  unexampled  tide  of  emigrants,  who,  exchanging  all 
the  comforts  of  their  native  society  and  homes  for  settle 
ments  for  themselves  and  their  children  here,  came  like 
pilgrims  to  a  wilderness  to  be  made  secure  by  their  arms 
and  habitable  by  the  toil  of  their  lives.  Through  privations 
incredible  and  perils  thick,  thousands  of  men,  women  and 
children  came  in  successive  caravans,  forming  continuous 
streams  of  human  beings,  horses,  cattle,  and  other  domestic 
animals,  all  moving  onward  along  a  lonely  and  houseless 


32          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

path  to  a  wild  and  cheerless  land.  Cast  your  eyes  back  on 
that  long  procession  of  missionaries  in  the  cause  of  civiliza 
tion,  behold  the  men  on  foot  with  their  trusty  guns  on  their 
shoulders,  driving  stock  and  loading  pack  horses;  and  the 
.women,  some  walking  with  pails  on  their  heads,  others 
riding  with  children  in  their  laps,  and  other  children  swung 
in  baskets  on  horses,  fastened  to  the  tails  of  others  going 
before;  see  them  encamped  at  night  expecting  to  be 
massacred  by  Indians;  behold  them  in  the  month  of  De 
cember,  in  that  ever  memorable  season  of  unprecedented 
cold  called  "the  hard  winter,"  traveling  two  or  three  miles 
a  day,  frequently  in  danger  of  being  frozen  or  killed  by 
the  falling  of  horses  on  the  icy  and  almost  impassable  trace, 
and  subsisting  on  stinted  allowances  of  stale  bread  and  meat ; 
but  now  lastly,  look  at  them,  at  the  destined  fort,  perhaps 
on  the  eve  of  merry  Christmas,  when  met  by  the  hearty 
welcome  of  friends  who  had  gone  before,  and  cheered  by 
fresh  buffalo  meat  and  parched  corn,  they  rejoice  at  their 
deliverance  and  resolve  to  be  contented  with  their  lot. 

« 
The  demand  for  Kentucky  lands  was  increased  by  the 

action  of  Virginia  in  1781,  in  setting  aside  millions  of 
acres  in  the  territory  as  bounties  for  revolutionary  soldiers. 
In  1782  there  were  twelve  thousand  people  in  Kentucky, 
and  in  1784  the  number  had  increased  to  thirty  thousand. 
In  1790  the  territory  had  a  population  of  over  ninety-three 
thousand. 

"The  enthusiasm  for  emigrating  was  at  that  time  carried 
to  such  a  degree  that  some  years  upwards  of  twenty  thou 
sand  have  been  known  to  pass/'  a  visiting  foreigner  wrote 
in  amazement.  "The  overflow  of  new  colonies  very  soon 
raised  the  price  of  land  in  Kentucky;  from  twopence  and 
twopence  half  penny  per  acre,  it  suddenly  rose  to  seven  or 
eight  shillings." 

In  1793  Imlay  said,6  in  connection  with  a  map  drawn  by 
him  for  insertion  in  his  volume  of  travels : 

You  will  discern  that  Kentucky  is  already  divided  into 
nine  counties,  and  that  villages  are  springing  up  in  every 


From  an  old  print 


ON    THE   ROAD   IX  EARLY   DAYS 


From  "National  Gallery  of  American  Landscape" 

EVANSVILLE,   INDIANA,   IX    EARLY   DAYS 


From  an  old  print  reproduced  in  "The  Magazine  of  American  History' 

THE    OLD   FORT   AT  LEXINGTON,  BUILT    IN    1782 


From  "Picturesque  America" 


CUMBERLAND  GAP,  TENNESSEE 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP          33 

part  within  its  limits,  while  roads  have  been  opened  to 
shorten  the  distance  to  Virginia,  and  to  smooth  the  rugged 
paths  which  a  short  time  since  were  only  tracts  of  com 
munication  from  one  place  to  another. 

In  1800  the  population  of  Kentucky  was  two  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand,  or  more  than  there  were  in  Con 
necticut  at  that  time. 

Imlay's  table  of  stations  7  and  distances  on  the  road  from 
Philadelphia  to  Louisville  helps  one  to  appreciate  tne  diffi 
culties  of  the  pioneers: 

From  Philadelphia  to  Lancaster 66 

To  Wright's  on  Susquehanna. 10 

To   York-town. ./ — 12 

Abbott' s-town    15 

Hunter's-town  10 

the  Mountain  at  Black's  Gap 3 

the  other  side  of  the  Mountain  . . .. 7 

the  Stone-house  Tavern 25 

Wadkin's  Ferry  on  Potowmack 14 

Martinsburg    13 

Winchester , 20 

New-town 8 

Stover' s-town 10 

Woodstock 12 

Shanandoah  River 15 

the  North  branch  of  Shanandoah 29 

Staunton  15 

the  North  Fork  of  James  River 37 

James  River 18 

Botetourt  Court  House 12 

Woods  on  Catawba  River 21 

Paterson's  on  Roanoak 9 

the  Allegany  Mountain   8 

New  River 12 

the  Forks  of  the  Road 16 

Fort  Chissel 12 

Stone   Mill    , n 

Boyd's    8 


34          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Head  of  Holstein 5 

Washington  Court  House 45 

the  Block-House .m 35 

Powell's  Mountain 33 

Walden's  Ridge    ,. . . .  3 

the  Valley  Station 4 

Martin  Cabbin's   25 

Cumberland  Mountain   ,.  20 

the  Ford  of  Cumberland  River 13 

the  Flat  Lick 9 

Stinking  Creek   . . . ., 2 

Richland  Creek 7 

Down  Richland  Creek  -. 8 

Rackoon  Spring   ,. . . .  6 

Laurel  River , 2 

Hazle  Patch 15 

the  Ford  on  Rock  Castle  River 10 

English's  Station 25 

Col.  Edward's  at  Crab  Orchard 3 

Whitley's  Station 5 

Logan's  Station 5 

Clark's  Station 7 

Crow's  Station , 4 

Harrod's  Station ,. .  3 

Harlands 4 

Harbison's , 10 

Bards-town 25 

the  Salt  works 25 

the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 20 

Total    826 

Rev.  Peter  Cartwright,  the  pioneer  Methodist  circuit 
rider,  in  giving  an  account  of  his  life,8  told  of  the  coming 
of  his  parents  to  Kentucky  by  this  route,  shortly  after  the 
Revolution : 

It  was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  from  Virginia  to 
Kentucky  at  that  early  day.  .  .  .  There  were  no  roads  for 
carriages,  and  though  the  emigrants  moved  by  thousands, 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP          35 

they  had  to  move  on  pack  horses.  The  fall  my  father 
moved  there  were  a  great  many  families  who  joined  to 
gether  for  mutual  safety.  Besides  the  two  hundred  families 
thus  united  there  were  one  hundred  young  men,  well  armed, 
who  agreed  to  guard  these  families  through  the  wilderness. 
After  we  struck  the  wilderness  we  rarely  traveled  a  day  but 
we  passed  some  white  persons,  murdered  and  scalped  by 
the  Indians. 

When  they  were  some  miles  from  the  Crab  Orchard,  the 
first  white  settlement  recorded,  seven  families  camped  for 
the  night.  The  others  went  on  to  the  station.  That  night 
those  left  behind  were  killed  by  the  Indians. 

At  one  time  a  number  of  churches  traveled  in  a  body 
from  Virginia  to  Kentucky :  9 

Such  a  company  journeying  through  the  wilderness  was 
an  impressive  scene.  The  voice  of  their  pastor  can  be  heard 
encouraging  them  with  sermons  drawn  from  the  Exodus 
of  the  Israelites.  While  they  enjoyed  the  good  fortune  of 
fair  weather,  sunshine  and  immunity  from  Indian  molesta 
tion,  we  can  hear  their  cheerful  voices  in  happy  conversa 
tion.  .  .  .  But  when  the  clouds  lowered  and  rain,  sleet  and 
snow  were  driven  against  them  by  the  bleak  mountain 
winds,  we  can  see  the  distress  of  the  women,  and  hear  the 
pitiful  cry  of  the  little  ones.  If,  to  the  dismal  wretchedness 
of  rough,  wild  country  and  stormy  weather,  were  added 
the  horrors  of  an  Indian  attack,  the  picture  of  helpless 
distress  is  complete. 

One  emigrant  company  of  five  families  had  with  them 
twenty  or  more  horses  and  some  fifty  head  of  cattle,  in 
cluding  a  few  cows  to  provide  milk  for  the  children.10  Each 
day  when  the  party  would  set  out,  the  cattle  were  driven  in 
advance  by  two  or  three  men  or  boys.  At  first  it  was 
difficult  to  make  the  animals  move  properly,  but  soon  they 
seemed  to  be  as  well  accustomed  to  being  on  the  move  as 
those  who  drove  them.  The  pack  horses  followed  in  single 
file.  These  were  »n  charge  of  the  men,  who  walked  along- 


36          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

side  on  foot,  each  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder.  Usually 
the  women  and  small  children  were  in  the  rear  on  horse 
back,  though  sometimes  a  mother  would  lead  the  horse  that 
carried  her  children. 

All  went  well  until  the  emigrants  reached  the  middle  of 
the  wilderness.  Then  the  cold  rain  fell  day  after  day.  The 
creeks  became  swollen.  Finally  there  was  frost  and  snow. 
Food  became  scarce,  and  the  horses  lost  flesh  and  failed  in 
strength.  Food  for  the  women  and  children  became  scanty. 
The  party  halted,  while  the  hunters  set  out  after  game. 
The  search  was  unsuccessful;  the  noise  of  the  men  in  the 
frozen  snow  alarmed  the  animals  so  eagerly  sought.  With 
heavy  hearts  the  fathers  returned  to  their  children  who 
were  crying  from  hunger.  It  became  necessary  to  kill  some 
of  the  precious  cattle  for  food.  The  meat  was  cooked  with 
out  seasoning  and  was  eaten  without  bread. 

Thus  passed  seven  or  eight  weeks.  For  a  time  the  cattle 
lived  on  the  cane,  (they  were  encamped  in  a  canebrake), 
but  the  day  came  when  rain  froze  on  the  cane.  Deprived  of 
the  only  food,  all  the  cattle  died.  When  it  became  possible 
to  travel  there  were  not  enough  horses  to  carry  the  baggage, 
and  it  was  found  necessary  to  hide  some  of  the  heavier 
articles  in  the  hope  that  these  might  be  recovered  in  the 
spring. 

Fortunately,  two  hunters  who  went  in  advance  of  the 
party  succeeded  in  killing  a  deer.  Some  of  the  children 
were  so  eager  for  food  that  they  ate  the  meat  half  raw. 
Later  in  the  day  two  more  deer  were  brought  in  whose 
flesh  was  lean  and  blue. 

After  many  weeks  of  privation  the  emigrants  reached 
English  Station.  The  first  dried  buffalo  meat  they  had 
there  seemed  like  a  great  delicacy. 

Remaining  only  long  enough  to  see  their  families  safely 
housed,  some  of  the  men  went  back  to  the  wilderness  for 
the  goods  they  had  left  behind. 

They  searched  for  these  in  vain.  Later  they  learned 
that  thieves  had  raided  not  only  this  cache  but  also  the 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    37 

caches  of  many  other  emigrant  companies  which  had  been 
forced  to  leave  their  goods  behind  during  that  trying  winter. 
Four  months  after  the  party  reached  English  Station, 
two  of  the  men  were  felling  trees  near  their  homes  when 
they  heard  a  call  from  the  forest.  Hastily  they  reached  for 
their  rifles,  for  they  feared  an  Indian  surprise.  But  when 
the  call  was  repeated,  they  investigated  and  found  a  man 
without  clothing.  The  unfortunate  man  told  that  while 
he  was  in  the  forest  near  Morton's  Station,  hunting  strayed 
cattle,  the  station  had  been  taken  by  the  Indians  and  all  the 
settlers  had  been  killed.  On  his  return  he  learned  of  the 
disaster  in  time  to  escape.  When  he  came  to  the  Kentucky 
river  he  made  a  raft,  rolled  his  clothing  in  a  bundle,  and 
tried  to  reach  the  opposite  shore.  The  raft  upset,  the 
clothes  were  lost  in  the  stream,  and  with  great  difficulty  he 
succeeded  in  landing.  Then  he  wandered  about  until  he 
heard  the  woodsmen  and  called  to  them  for  help. 


III.    THE   ADVENTURES    OF  THREE   TRAVELERS 

The  mountains  that  enclose  the  vale 
With  walls  of  granite,  steep  and  high, 

Invite  the  fearless  foot  to  scale 
Their  stairway  toward  the  sky. 

The  bars  of  life  at  which  we  fret 

That  seem  to  prison  and  control, 
Are  but  the  doors  of  daring,  set 

Ajar  before  the  soul. 

— Henry  Van  Dyke. 

WILLIAM  CALK  went  from  Prince  William  County,  Vir 
ginia,  to  Boonesborough,  in  1775.  In  his  journal ll  he  told 
of  the  experiences  of  the  trip,  which  lasted  from  March  13 
to  May  2.  In  part,  this  record  was  as  follows : 

Satrd  25th — We  start  early  over  some  more  very  Bad 
mountains  one  that  is  called  Clinch  mountain  and  we  git 
this  night  to  Danil  Smiths  on  Clinch  and  there  we  staid  till 
thursday  morning  on  tuesday  night  and  Wednesday  morn 
ing  it  snowed  Very  hard  and  was  very  Coald  and  we  hunted 
a  good  deal  there  While  we  staid  in  Rough  mountains  and 
kild  three  deer  and  one  turkey  Eanock  Abram  and  I  got 
lost  tuesday  night  and  it  a  snowing  and  Should  a  lain  in 
the  Mountains  had  not  I  a  had  a  pocket  compas  by  which  I 
got  in  a  littel  in  the  night  and  fired  guns  and  they  heard 
them  and  came  in  By  the  Repoart. 

thursd  3Oth — We  set  out  again  and  went  down  to  Elk 
garden  and  there  suplied  our  Selves  With  Seed  Corn  and 
Irish  tators  then  we  went  on  a  littel  way  I  turned  my  hors 
to  drive  before  me  and  he  got  scard  ran  away  threw  Uown 
the  Saddel  Bags  and  brok  three  of  our  powder  goards  and 
Abrams  beast  Burst  open  a  Walet  of  corn  and  lost  a  good 
Deal  and  made  a  turrabel  flustration  amongst  the  Reast  of 

38 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP          39 

the  Horses  Drakes  mair  run  aganst  a  sapling  and  noct  it 
down  we  cacht  them  all  agin  and  went  on  and  lodged  at 
John  Duncans. 

frdy  3  ist — We  suplyed  our  Selves  at  Dunkans  with  a 
103  pounds  of  Bacon  and  went  on  again  to  Brileys  mill  and 
suployed  our  Selves  with  meal  and  lodged  this  night  on 
Clinch  By  a  large  cainbraike  and  cuckt  our  Suppers. 

April  Saturdy  ist — This  morning  there  is  ice  at  our  camp 
half  inch  thick  we  start  early  and  travel  this  Day  along  a 
verey  Bad  hilley  way  cross  one  creek  whear  the  horses  al 
most  got  mired  some  fell  in  and  all  wet  their  loads  wair  we 
cross  Clinch  River  and  travell  till  late  in  the  Night  and 
camp  on  Cove  creek,  having  two  men  with  us  that  wair 
pilates  .  .  . 

frday  7th — this  morning  is  a  very  bad  snowy  morning, 
we  still  continue  at  Camp  being  in  number  about  40  men 
and  some  neagros  this  Eaven  Comes  a  letter  from  Capt. 
Boone  at  caintuck  of  the  indians  doing  mischief  and  some 
turns  back. 

,  Saturdy  8th — We  all  pack  up  and  started  crost  Cumber 
land  gap  about  one  o'clock  this  Day  Met  a  good  maney 
peopel  turned  Back  for  fear  of  the  indians  but  our  Company 
goes  on  Still  with  good  courage  we  come  to  a  very  ugly 
Creek  with  steep  Banks  and  have  to  cross  several  times 
on  this  Creek  we  camp  this  night. 

Sunday  Qth — this  morning  we  wait  at  camp  for  the  cattel 
to  Be  drove  up  to  kill  a  Beef  tis  late  before  they  come  and 
people  make  out  a  littel  snack  and  agree  to  go  on  till  night 
we  git  to  Cumberland  River  and  there  we  camp  meet  more 
men  turn  Back.  .  .  . 

tuesday  nth  .  .  .  We  cross  Cumberland  River  and 
travel  Down  it  about  10  miles  through  some  turrabel  cain- 
brakes  as  we  went  down  abrams  mair  Ran  into  the  River 
with  her  load  and  swam  over  he  followed  her  and  got  on 
her  and  made  her  swim  back  agin  it  is  a  very  raney  Eaven- 
ing  we  take  up  Camp  near  Richland  Creek  they  kill  a  beef 
Mr.  Drake  Bakes  Bread  without  washing  his  hands  we 
Keep  Sentry  this  Night  for  fear  of  the  indians. 

Wednesday  I2th — this  is  a  Raney  morning  But  we  pack 
Up  and  go  on  we  come  to  Richland  Creek  it  is  high  we  tote 


40  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

our  packs  over  on  a  tree  and  swim  our  horses  over  and 
there  we  meet  another  Companey  going  Back  they  tell  such 
News  Abram  and  Drake  is  Afraid  to  go  aney  further  there 
we  camp  this  night. 

thursday  I3th  .  .  .  Abram  and  Drake  turn  Back  we  go 
on  and  git  to  loral  River  we  come  to  a  creek  Before  wheare 
we  are  able  to  unload  and  to  take  our  packs  over  on  a  log 
this  day  we  met  about  20  men  turning  Back  We  are  obliged 
to  take  our  packs  over  loral  river  and  swim  our  horses  and 
one  hors  ran  in  with  his  pack  and  lost  it  in  the  river  and 
they  got  it  agin.  .  .  . 

Sunday  i6th — cloudy  and  warm  we  start  early  and  go  on 
about  2  miles  down  the  river  and  then  turn  up  a  creek  that 
we  crost  about  50  times  some  very  bad  foards  with  a  great 
Deal  of  very  good  land  on  it  in  the  Eavening  we  git  over 
on  to  the  waters  of  Caintuck  and  go  a  little  down  the  creek 
and  there  we  camp  keep  sentel  the  fore  part  of  the  Night  it 
rains  very  har  all  night.  .  .  . 

tusdy  1 8th — Air  fin  and  cool  and  we  go  about  10  oclock 
we  meet  4  men  from  Boons  camp  that  cairn  to  conduck  us 
on  we  camp  this  night  just  on  the  Beginning  of  the  good 
land  near  the  Blue  lick  they  Kill  2  bofelos  this  Eavening. 

thursdy  2oth — We  start  early  and  git  Down  to  caintuck 
to  Boons  foart  about  12  oclock  where  we  stop  they  come 
out  to  meet  us  and  welcom  us  in  with  a  voley  of  guns. 

friday  2ist —  .  .  .  they  begin  laying  off  lots  in  the  town 
and  preparing  for  people  to  go  to  work  to  make  corn. 

Satterdy  22nd — they  finish  laying  out  lots  this  Eavening 
I  went  a  fishing  and  caught  3  cats  they  meet  in  the  night 
to  draw  for  chose  of  lots  but  prefer  it  till  morning. 

Sundy  23rd — this  morning  the  peopel  meets  and  draws 
for  chois  of  lots  .  .  . 

mondy  24th — We  all  view  our  lots  and  some  Dont  like 
them  .  .  . 

tusdy  25th — in  the  eaving  we  git  on  a  plain  at  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  and  begin  clearing. 

Wednesday  26th — We  Begin  Building  us  a  house  and  a 
plaise  of  Defense  to  Keep  the  indians  off  this  day  we  begin 
to  live  without  bread. 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP          41 

thursdy  27th — Raniey  all  Day  But  We  Still  keep  about 
our  house. 

Satterdy  2Qth — We  git  our  house  Kivered  with  Bark  and 
mov  our  things  into  it  at  Night  and  Begin  housekeeping 
Eanock  Smith  Robert  Whitledge  and  myself. 

William  Brown,  an  emigrant  of  1782,  told  of  his  ex 
periences  : 12 

Set  out  from  Hanover  [Virginia]  Monday,  27th  May, 
1782  .  .  .  Crossing  the  Blue  Ridge  is  not  bad  .  .  .  Neither 
is  the  Alleghany  Mountain  by  any  means  difficult  at  this 
gap.  .  .  .  We  waited  hereabouts  near  two  wreeks  for  com 
pany,  and  then  set  out  for  the  wilderness  with  twelve  men 
and  ten  guns,  this  being  Thursday,  i8th  July.  The  road 
from  this  until  you  get  over  Walten's  Ridge  generally  is  bad, 
some  part  very  much  so.  ...  It  will  be  but  a  thin  settled 
country  whenever  it  is  settled.  The  fords  of  Holstein  and 
Clinch  are  both  good  in  dry  weather,  but  in  a  rainy  season 
you  are  often  obliged  to  raft  over.  .  .  .  For  about  fifty 
miles  as  you  travel  along  the  valley,  Cumberland  Mountain 
appears  to  be  a  very  high  ridge  of  white  rocks,  inaccessible 
in  most  places  to  either  man  or  beast  and  affords  a  wild 
romantic  prospect.  The  way  through  the  gap  is  not  very 
difficult,  but  from  its  situation  travelers  may  be  attacked  in 
some  places,  crossing  the  mountain,  by  the  enemy  to  a  very 
great  disadvantage.  From  thence  until  you  pass  Rockcastle 
River  there  is  very  little  good  road ;  this  tract  of  country  is 
very  mountainous,  and  badly  watered  along  the  trace, 
especially  for  springs.  There  is  some  good  land  on  the 
water  courses,  and  just  on  this  side  Cumberland  River  ap 
pears  to  be  a  good  tract,  and  within  a  few  years  I  expect 
to  have  a  settlement  on  it.  ...  Monday,  29th  inst,  I  got 
to  Harrodsburg. 

In  March,  1778,  Daniel  Trabue,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
one,  set  out  from  his  Virginia  home  to  join  Colonel  George 
Rogers  Clark  in  Kentucky  on  the  expedition  authorized  by 
the  Virginia  legislature  which  resulted  in  the  conquest  of 
Cahokia  and  Vincennes.  In  the  party  were  seven  men,  in- 


42          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

eluding  James  Trabue,  Daniel's  brother,  and  a  negro  boy. 
Only  a  small  supply  of  provisions  was  taken;  the  depend 
ence  of  the  men  was  on  game  they  thought  they  would 
kill.  The  journey  was  made  by  way  of  Cumberland  Gap, 
where  the  first  adventure  was  staged. 

The  sight  of  fresh  Indian  tracks  brought  the  little  party 
to  a  stand.  The  diary  kept  by  Daniel  Trabue13  tells  what 
happened : 

James  Trabue  ordered  everyone  to  alight,  and  prime  our 
guns  afresh,  and  put  2  bullets  in  each  man's  mouth,  and  if 
we  came  up  with  the  Indians,  we  must  fight  our  best.  .  .  . 
We  had  one  man  with  us  that  was  named  Locust;  he  said 
he  wished  he  could  come  up  with  the  Indians ;  he  wanted  so 
bad  to  have  a  chance  of  killing  them ;  he  said  he  could  kill 
five  himself;  he  could  shoot,  he  could  tomahawk,  and  make 
use  of  his  butcher's  knife. 

The  pursuit  continued.  "I  was  getting  very  afraid  that 
we  would  be  defeated,"  the  honest  Trabue  wrote.  "As  we 
went  on  I  talked  some  with  Locust;  again  he  talked  the 
same  way  of  killing,  and  I  began  to  feel  chicken-hearted. 
I  was  afraid  I  would  be  killed  in  this  dreary  howling  wil 
derness. 

"I  thought  if  I  came  in  contact  with  the  Indians  I  would 
go  behind  a  tree,  or  in  the  rear,  but  I  thought  that  would 
not  do,  as  I  might  be  called  a  coward/' 

Suddenly  two  Indians  were  seen,  sitting  in  the  road, 
eating.  They  sprang  to  their  feet  and  fled.  Daniel  was 
among  the  lustiest  of  the  pursuers.  After  a  time,  seeing 
that  the  pursuit  would  be  vain,  James  Trabue  called  a  halt. 
Then  the  men  praised  Daniel  for  his  bravery. 

The  boastful  Locust  was  not  in  sight.  Had  he  refused 
to  give  up  the  pursuit,  but  the  negro  boy  explained  the 
absence  of  the  brave  Indian  fighter  who  longed  to  face  five 
Indians  alone.  He  had  relieved  the  negro  of  the  care  of 
the  horses,  and  had  remained  safely  in  the  rear! 

More  than  three  years  later,  while  William  Trabue  was 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP     43 

in  the  same  general  region,  with  ten  or  twelve  armed  men, 
the  party  overtook  a  number  of  families  moving  to  Kentucky 
who  begged  the  men  to  join  their  company,  for  added  pro 
tection.14 

When  near  Cumberland  Gap  Daniel  Trabue  and  two 
other  men  went  bear  hunting;  the  large  party  was  in  need 
of  meat.  Bear  tracks  were  soon  discovered  on  a  lofty  ridge, 
and  the  pursuit  of  the  animal  was  begun. 

We  turned  to  the  right  to  go  down  the  ridge.  There  was 
a  Gap  between  two  lofty  rocks.  We  went  through  the  gap 
and  down  a  few  steps,  and  we  were  on  a  bench  10  or  12 
feet  wide,  and  there  was  a  shelving  rock  from  the  ridge 
which  mostly  covered  this  bench.  ...  In  the  front  of  this 
bench,  as  we  would  look  down  the  mountain  from  where 
we  stood,  it  appeared  to  be  Impossible  to  go  further  as  it 
was  about  25  feet  Down  to  the  next  bench  perpendicular. 
We  said  "Here  is  a  jumping  off  place;  it  is  good  and  dry 
where  we  stand,  but  what  will  we  Do  if  the  Indians  come 
on  us  here?"  We  all  concluded  that  it  would  kill  any  man 
who  would  jump  down;  that  if  the  Indians  did  come  we 
could  keep  off  20  by  shooting  them  as  they  would  approach ; 
the  bench  that  we  were  on  was  about  20  yards  long. 

A  fire  was  built  on  the  bench.  As  the  men  stood  before 
the  fire  a  stick  cracked  at  the  gap  behind  them.  Trabue 
stooped  down  to  get  his  gun,  and  saw  the  Indians  in  the 
gap.  The  men  turned  to  defend  themselves  when  a  startling 
sound  from  behind  made  them  turn.  Other  Indians  were 
coming  through  the  gap  at  the  other  end  of  the  bench. 

The  situation  was  critical.  There  was  no  escape  from 
the  bench,  save  through  the  gap  where  the  Indians  were, 
and  down  the  precipice  which  had  made  the  men  shudder 
as  they  looked  at  it  only  a  few  minutes  before. 

But  not  many  seconds  were  given  to  decide  what  to  do. 
From  both  sides  the  Indians  rushed  in,  brandishing  their 
tomahawks.  With  one  accord  the  men  leaped  over  the 
edge  of  the  bench,  to  what  they  thought  might  be  their 


44  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

death,  but  to  their  surprise  they  lighted  on  another  scanty 
bench  of  soft  earth  about  two  feet  wide.  From  this  they 
slipped  to  the  next  bench.  By  this  time  they  were  out  of 
sight  of  the  Indians.  Other  benches  were  taken  rapidly 
and  before  long  the  bear  hunters  were  down  the  mountain. 
The  sound  of  pursuit  could  be  heard,  but  the  Indians  were 
following  a  safe  track  and  there  was  hope. 

Trabue  kicked  off  his  shoes  because  they  were  wet  as 
well  as  too  big.  A  moment  later,  thinking  of  the  silver 
buckles  that  were  worth  six  dollars,  he  turned  back  to  pick 
them  up.  As  he  stooped  to  recover  the  shoes  he  saw  the 
Indians,  one  of  whom  fired  at  him  from  a  distance  of  a 
hundred  yards.  "I  felt  bad/'  he  owned  in  his  story  of  the 
day. 

Finally,  after  a  stern  chase,  the  Indians  gave  up,  but 
not  until  the  bear  hunters  were  within  sight  of  their  camp. 

As  they  talked  over  the  events  of  the  afternoon  they 
wondered  how  they  could  have  escaped  from  twelve  or 
fifteen  Indians.  They  decided  that  the  savages  had  no 
notion  that  the  white  men  would  jump  down  from  the 
bench,  and  that  their  guns  must  have  been  wet. 

"The  next  day  neither  of  us  could  scarcely  walk,"  the 
stirring  tale  concludes.  "Our  friends  had  to  bring  up  our 
horses  to  us,  for  us  to  get  on  them." 

Daniel  Trabue  made  a  second  journey  to  Kentucky  in 
the  spring  of  1785.  Of  this  he  wrote : 15 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1785  we  concluded  to  move  to 
Kentucky.  About  the  last  of  March  Brother  James  Trabue 
and  I,  with  a  negro  man  and  a  few  Virginians,  set  out  to 
come  through  the  wilderness. 

When  we  reached  the  frontier  we  heard  that  the  Indians 
were  very  troublesome.  But  few  people  were  using  the 
Wilderness  Road,  so  the  old  Virginians  turned  back  home. 
My  Brother  and  I,  and  the  negro,  went  on  to  Powell's  Val 
ley,  and  Tarryed  several  Days  waiting  for  company.  Cap 
tain  Thomas  Gert  from  Kentucky,  Mr.  Bramlett  from  Bed 
ford  County,  Va.,  a  Frenchman  and  one  more  concluded  to 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP    45 

join  us,  so  we  set  out  and  traveled  over  the  most  dangerous 
places  in  the  night. 

We  got  to  Cumberland  Gap  about  dark  expecting  by  Day 
light  to  reach  the  big  Lake,  which  is  about  20  miles  away. 
We  thought  we  would  then  take  to  the  woods,  or  that  even 
if  we  kept  the  Trail,  we  would  not  be  in  so  much  danger, 
after  we  had  passed  the  big  lake.  But  on  account  of  bad 
mud  holes,  slippery  banks,  cane  brakes,  and  some  logs 
across  the  road,  darkness  overtook  us  much  sooner  than  we 
wished,  and  we  could  not  leave  the  Trail  in  that  section  of 
the  country.  We  went  on  briskly,  and  bravely  until  we  got 
past  the  big  lick  where  the  Indian  War  road  leaves  the 
Kentucky  road. 

We  stopped  and  fed  our  horses  on  the  grass,  ate  our  sup 
per,  and  went  on  again.  That  evening  we  met  a  large  com 
pany  of  about  a  hundred  men  from  Kentucky,  who  told  us 
there  were  plenty  of  signs  of  Indians  ahead.  We  thought 
that  the  Indians  would  try  to  surprise  either  us  or  the 
larger  company  that  night.  We  let  our  fire  go  out,  and  one 
of  us  kept  awake,  but  Brother  James  and  I  concluded  we 
were  now  out  of  danger,  but  it  was  best  to  look  sharp. 

Brother  James  and  I  generally  went  a  little  ahead.  I 
was  now  in  advance,  when  suddenly,  I  saw  an  Indian  ahead 
TOO  yards,  by  a  tree,  behind  which  he  dodged.  As  we 
passed,  he  then  ran  off  apparently  scared.  Mr.  Bramlett 
said,  "Let  us  take  after  him  and  kill  him,"  but  James  Trabue 
said  "He  is  not  there  by  himself.  Indians  do  not  go  to  War 
300  miles  unless  they  are  prepared  for  it.  Furthermore  if 
we  stay  here  another  minute  we  will  see  plenty  of  them." 
"What  shall  we  do?"  said  Capt.  Gert  who  was  an  old  In 
dian  fighter.  "Dart  off  into  the  woods  with  all  our  might/' 
said  James  Trabue,  which  we  did,  James  going  ahead. 

We  kept  to  the  woods  nearly  all  day,  and  saw  plenty  of 
signs  showing  that  a  large  quantity  of  Indians  were  in 
that  section  of  the  country;  we  felt  very  wild  and  skittish. 
.  .  .  We  thought  it  was  probable  that  we  might  come  across 
some  straggling  parties  of  Indians  hunting,  and  we  con 
cluded  to  kill  them  if  we  could.  .  .  .  Just  before  night  we 
came  to  the  road  near  Rockcastle ;  we  kept  to  the  road,  and 
had  to  go  up  Scrags'  Creek,  crossing  it  many  times. 


46  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Darkness  overtook  us,  and  as  it  was  cloudy  it  seemed  to 
me  the  darkest  night  I  ever  saw.  As  we  all  thought  that  we 
were  in  imminent  danger,  we  concluded  to  travel  during  the 
night,  and  to  keep  on  to  a  station  at  Crab  Orchard.  As  we 
went  on  the  Frenchman's  horse  fell  with  him  several  feet 
down  an  embankment.  We  were  a  long  time  trying  to  get 
him  out,  and  Anally  were  compelled  to  make  a  light  to  do  so. 
We  now  concluded  to  stop,  and  turn  our  horses  out,  but 
hoppled  them.  Some  of  us  kept  awake  while  others  slept. 

I  for  one  did  not  sleep  any,  as  the  horses  were  alarmed 
at  something  that  we  apprehended  was  Indians.  I  waked 
up  the  men,  and  told  them  it  was  not  so  dark  as  it  had 
been,  and  since  the  horses  were  alarmed  at  something  we 
had  best  start.  To  this  they  all  consented.  We  reached 
Crab  Orchard  about  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  ordered 
breakfast  and  our  horses  fed.  I  went  into  the  house  almost 
asleep;  laid  by  my  saddle  bags  and  gun  and  went  to  bed. 
That  afternoon  Bro.  James,  and  I,  and  my  negro,  went  to 
Gilbert's  Creek,  where  G.  S.  Smith  lived,  and  from  there 
to  Wood  ford,  where  I  intended  to  live. 

My  brother  James  went  back  to  Virginia  and  left  me. 
I  made  some  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  my  family, 
and  in  July  set  out  for  home  again.  When  we  went  through 
the  wilderness  this  time,  we  had  one  hundred  men  in  the 
company,  and  they  voted  me  as  their  Captain.  We  kept  out 
strong  sentries  each  night,  and  getting  through  the  wilder 
ness  safely  and  well,  I  soon  got  back  to  Chesterfield,  to 
my  family,  and  made  arrangements  to  move  to  Kentucky 
by  way  of  Fort  Pitt. 

Only  seventeen  years  after  this  adventurous  journey, 
Kentucky  became  a  state  in  the  Union,  and  the  pioneers 
rejoiced. 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  I 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "Topographical  Description  of  the  Western  Territory  of  North 

America,"   p.    153. 

2.  "Pioneer  Biography,"  Vol.  I,  p.  182. 

3.  "Description,   Settlement  and  Present  State  of  Kentucky." 

4.  "Travels  to  the  West  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,"  p.   159. 

5.  "The  Wilderness  Road"    (Filson   Club),  p.  41. 


THROUGH  THE  CUMBERLAND  GAP  47 

6.  "Topographical  Description  of  the  Western  Territory  of  North 

America,"   p.   397- 

7.  Ditto. 

8.  "Autobiography  of   Peter  Cartwright,     p.  2. 

9.  "The  Wilderness  Road"   (Filson  Club),  p.  39- 

10.  Ditto,  p.  34- 

11.  Ditto,  p.  57- 

12.  Ditto,  p.  14- 

13.  "Colonial  Men  and  Times,"  p.  14. 

14.  Ditto,  p.  70. 

15.  Ditto,  p.    120. 


CHAPTER  TWO:  THROUGH  THE  PITTSBURGH 
AND  WHEELING  GATEWAYS 


CROSSING  THE  ALLEGHENIES 

Now  down  the  mountain's  rugged  western  side, 

Descending  slow,  our  lowly  travelers  hied. 

Deep  in  a  narrow  glen,  within  whose  breast 

The  rolling  fragments  of  the  mountains  rest; 

Rocks  tumbled  on  each  other,  by  rude  chance, 

Crowned  with  gay  fern,  and  mosses,  meet  the  glance, 

Through  which  a  brawling  river  traced  its  way, 

Dashing  among  the  rocks  in  foaming  spray. 

Here,  mid  the  fragments  of  a  broken  world, 

In  wild  and  rough  confusion,  idly  hurled, 

Where  ne'er  was  heard  the  woodman's  echoing  stroke, 

Rose  a  huge  forest  of  gigantic  oak, 

With  heads  that  towered  half  up  the  mountain  side, 

And  arms  extending  round  them  far  and  wide, 

They  looked  coeval  with  old  mother  Earth, 

And  seemed  to  claim  with  her  an  equal  birth. 

— JOHN  KIRKE  PAULDING. 


I.     BRADDOCK'S  ROAD  AND  THE  NATIONAL  ROAD 

"Then  o'er  the  hills  in  legions,  boys, 

Fair  freedom's  star 
Points  to  the  sunset  region,  boys, 
Ha-ha!   ha-ha!" 

THE  movement  of  population  westward  through  Penn^ 
sylvania  was  not  well  under  way  until  thousands  had 
trodden  Boone's  Wilderness  Road.  Up  to  a  few  years 
before  the  Revolution,  Lancaster,  sixty-six  miles  west  of 
Philadelphia,  was  thought  of  as  a  backwoods  settlement, 
and  those  who  penetrated  far  beyond  it  were  considered 
quite  venturesome. 

The  few  travelers  who  found  their  way  across  the  moun 
tains  at  this  early  day  had  their  choice  of  a  route  south  to 
Baltimore,  then  up  the  Potomac  river  to  Fort  Cumberland, 
and  from  there  by  the  Wills  Creek  road,  or,  as  it  was  known 
after  1755,  Braddock's  Road.  George  Washington,  when 
a  colonel  of  the  Virginia  Militia,  toiled  along  this  road.  Of 
the  journey  he  wrote,  "The  great  difficulty  and  the  labor 
that  it  requires  to  mend  and  alter  the  road  prevent  our 
marching  above  three  or  four  miles  a  day." 

This  road  touched  the  Youghiogheny  *  at  Redstone  Old 
Fort  (now  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania).  From  this  point 
many  chose  to  go  by  water  to  Pittsburgh,  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles. 

*  Early  travelers  found  the  name  of  this  stream  most  difficult. 
Braddock  called  it  "Youghheagany."  One  appointed  to  view  it  for 
the  State  spelled  the  name  "Yohiogain."  General  Forbes  made  two 
efforts,  Yohageny  and  Yachiogeny.  The  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  in 
an  official  communication  to  Governor  Morris,  spoke  of  it  as  "Yoigo- 
gain."  Many  people  solved  the  difficulty  of  spelling  and  pronuncia 
tion  by  calling  it  simply  "Yaw." 

51 


52  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

General  Braddock,  however,  continued  by  land  his  diffi 
cult  route  to  Pittsburgh,  hewing  through  the  forest  a  path 
over  which  tens  of  thousands  of  emigrants  later  picked 
their  steps  as  they  responded  to  the  call  of  the  West. 

Remembrance  of  the  difficulties  of  this  route,  and  desire 
to  make  the  passage  to  the  West  easier  for  those  who 
would  go  to  take  possession  of  the  rich  lands  in  the  coun 
try  tributary  to  the  Ohio  river,  led  Washington  to  father 
a  scheme  for  improving  Potomac  navigation  by  a  canal. 
He  hoped  that,  by  the  use  of  the  canal,  travelers  would  be 
able  to  reach  the  Ohio  after  making  a  single  portage.  So 
the  Patowmack  Company  was  organized  on  May  17,  1785, 
at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  Washington  being  the  chairman 
of  the  meeting  held  for  the  purpose.1  Work  on  the  project' 
was  begun  at  once,  and  before  many  months  rapid  progress 
had  been  made  in  the  face  of  physical  difficulties  as  well 
as  of  trials  like  those  of  which  the  treasurer  of  the  company 
wrote  officially : 1 

Great  Falls  potowmack  July  3d  1786.  Sir:  We  have 
Been  much  Imposed  upon  the  last  Two  weeks  in  the  powder 
way  (we  had  our  Blowers,  One  Run  off  the  other  Blown 
up)  we  therefore  was  Obliged  to  have  two  new  hands  put 
to  Blowing  and  there  was  much  attention  given  to  them 
least  axedents  should  happen  yet  they  used  the  powder 
Rather  too  Extravagant,  But  that  was  not  all  they  have  cer 
tainly  stolen  a  Considerable  Quantity  as  we  have  not  more 
by  us  than  will  last  until  tomorrow  noon.  Our  hole  troop 
is  such  Villians  that  we  must  for  the  future  give  the  powder 
into  Charge  of  a  person  appointed  for  the  purpose  to  meas 
ure  it  to  them  on  the  ground  by  a  Charger. — I  hope  you  will 
have  it  in  your  power  to  send  us  powder  here  Immediately 
.  .  .  please  to  send  i  Ib.  of  Salt  Petre  with  the  powder,  we 
think  we  Can  make  matches  with  it  that  will  Save  powder. 

All  difficulties  were  at  length  overcome  and  in  February, 
1802,  the  locks  at  Great  Falls  were  opened  for  service.  For 
twenty-eight  years  they  were  in  use.  Through  them  passed 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      53 

immense  quantities  of  merchandise  and  thousands  of 
settlers  bound  for  the  West. 

The  first  step  in  the  final  stage  in  the  development  of  the 
Potomac  route  into  the  West  was  taken  in  1806  when  Al 
bert  Gallatin,  who  had  a  vision  of  a  great  Government 
road  to  connect  the  East  with  Western  Pennsylvania,  West 
ern  Virginia,  Ohio  and  the  regions  farther  West,  succeeded 
in  having  commissioners  appointed  by  President  Jefferson 
to  report  on  the  possibility  of  his  project. 

Samuel  Adams  Drake2  tells  how  the  necessity  of  the 
road  was  brought  home  to  lawmakers  at  Washington  by 
the  complaints  of  the  settlers  in  Ohio : 

Remoteness  began  to  be  felt,  first  as  a  serious  hindrance 
to  rapid  prosperity,  and  then  as  a  grievance  to  be  redressed 
in  one  way  or  another.  With  the  rise  of  a  feeling  that  they 
were  being  neglected,  added  to  that  of  a  growing  power 
within  themselves,  sentimental  attachment  to  the  Union  be 
gan  to  cool. 

But  when  that  remoteness  was  felt  to  be  steadily  drawing 
East  and  West  apart,  statesmen  began  to  be  alarmed  for  the 
national  unity  and  with  good  reason.  Already  disunion 
was  being  openly  talked  of  in  Kentucky;  already  the  pros 
pects  of  a  Western  Confederacy  were  being  coldly  dis 
cussed;  already  demagogues  were  asking,  not  what  the 
Union  had  cost  the  whole  country,  but  what  was  it  worth 
to  them  alone. 

It  was  then  seen  that  facility  of  communication  alone 
could  bring  these  two  widely  separated  sections  together; 
so,  when  Ohio  was  admitted,  the  United  States  had  agreed 
to  make  a  great  national  highway  from  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  Atlantic  Slope  to  the  Ohio  River. 

Cumberland,  Maryland,  was  fixed  as  the  starting  point. 
Thence  the  road  was  to  run  to  Uniontown  and  Washing 
ton,  Pennsylvania.  The  Ohio  was  to  be  crossed  at  Wheel 
ing,  and  the  road  was  then  to  be  built  on  to  Columbus  and 
Indianapolis. 

The  first  contracts,  for  ten  miles  leading  out  of  Cumber- 


54          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

land,  were  signed  in  1811.  Six  years  later  Uniontown  was 
reached.  The  first  mail  coach  ran  through  from  Washing 
ton  to  Wheeling  in  1818.  In  1843  the  road  was  com 
pleted  to  Columbus,  and  Indianapolis  was  reached  not  long 
afterward.  Though  the  grading  was  finally  done  as  far  as 
Vandalia,  Illinois,  and  the  route  was  surveyed  into  Missouri, 
the  finished  road  stopped  at  Indianapolis. 

The  National  or  Cumberland  Road  was  a  financial  fail 
ure,  but  the  statesmanlike  purpose  of  its  sponsors  was  ac 
complished.  Their  aim  was  to  help  the  West.  In  this  they 
succeeded.  During  the  generation  when  most  immigrants 
used  the  road,  the  population  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois 
increased  from  783,635  to  3,620,314.  Scores  of  thousands 
of  those  who  helped  to  make  this  increase  traveled  by  this 
route,  which  was,  from  Cumberland  to  Redstone  Old  Fort, 
the  successor  of  the  Wills  Creek  Road  and  Braddock's 
Road. 

William  Cobbett,  one  of  these  early  travelers  on  this 
National  Road,  said  that  on  July  25,  1818,  he  met  ten 
wagons  loaded  with  emigrants  within  eight  miles.  He  had 
both  praise  and  blame  for  the  roadmakers.  Once  he 
wrote : 3 

This  general  government  road  is  by  no  means  well  laid 
out;  it  goes  straight  over  the  top  of  the  numerous  little 
hills,  up  and  down,  up  and  down.  It  would  have  been  a 
great  deal  nearer  in  point  of  time,  if  not  in  distance  (though 
I  think  that,  too),  if  a  view  had  been  had  to  the  labour  of 
travelling  over  these  everlasting  unevennesses. 

Again  he  said,  of  the  road  near  Wheeling: 

It  is  covered  with  a  very  thick  layer  of  nicely  broken 
stones,  or  stone,  rather,  laid  on  with  great  exactness  both 
as  to  depth  and  width,  and  then  rolled  down  with  an  iron 
roller,  which  reduces  all  to  one  solid  mass.  This  is  a  road 
made  for  ever. 

Travelers  of  to-day  who  use  the  National  Road,  and 
study  the  massive  stone  bridges  by  which  it  passes  over  the 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      55 

streams  along  the  way,  will  feel  like  echoing  the  words  of 
the  English  traveler. 

Five  years  after  Mr.  Cobbett's  journey,  W.  Faux,4  an 
English  farmer  who  had  promised  a  friend  to  pay  a  visit 
to  a  friend's  son,  an  emigrant  in  Illinois,  wrote,  on  the  day 
he  began  the  ascent  of  the  Alleghenies : 

All  here  is  wild,  awfully  precipitous,  and  darkly  umbrage 
ous,  high  as  the  heavens,  or  low  as  perdition.  I  almost  re 
solved  on  not  returning  this  way  by  mail,  which  keeps  one 
in  constant  alarm,  unless  the  traveler  has  nerves  of  iron  or 
brass.  Such,  however,  is  the  expertness  of  the  drivers  here 
that  there  is  no  ground  for  real  apprehension. 

Another  day  he  wrote: 

On  the  driver  getting  down  to  lock  the  wheel,  the  horses 
started,  and  instantly  struck  a  stump  of  a  tree,  and  upset 
the  mail  with  a  crashing  fall,  which  bruised  my  side,  cut 
my  face,  and  blackened  my  eyes;  the  two  leaders  escaped 
into  the  forest,  and  we  saw  them  no  more.  The  driver  went 
in  pursuit  of  them,  and  left  me  to  guard  and  sleep  an  hour 
and  a  half  in  the  damaged  vehicle,  now  nearly  bottom  up 
wards.  When  I  awoke  it  was  daylight,  and  I  walked  up 
to  a  farm  log-house,  the  people  of  which  put  their  heads  out 
of  the  window  and  thus  addressed  me,  "Stranger,  come  into 
the  fire !"  and  I  went  in,  without  being  burned.  At  five,  the 
driver  returned,  and  with  two  horses  only  we  got  under 
weigh. 

In  1828  a  traveler  5  told  his  story  of  the  difficulties  and 
privations  of  the  road : 

Nov.  4,  Set  off  from  Hagers  Town.  The  Road  has  been 
constructed  by  the  government  and  is  excessively  rough 
and  bad.  It  winds  along  the  sides  of  the  hills,  from  the 
hights  of  which  you  have  occasional  and  extensive  views 
of  the  country.  .  .  .  One  interminable  forest  is  the  whole 
prospect  before  you  without  relief  or  background. 

Our  carriage  was  built  after  the  manner  of  an  English 


56          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Market  Cart,  the  sides  protected  by  a  partial  covering  of 
leather,  admitting  both  wind  and  rain.  Sleeping  with  my 
head  and  neck  exposed  to  the  draft  of  wind  and  rain  dur 
ing  the  whole  night,  I  was  so  stiff  in  tfie  morning  as  to  be 
unable  to  look  in  any  direction  but  strait  before  me.  The 
road  was  bad;  one  wheel  gave  way.  Fortunately,  we 
found  a  waggon  by  the  road  side,  from  which  we  borrowed 
a  wheel  that  fitted  our  carriage  exactly. 

Nov.  5,  Arrived  at  Brownsville,  prettily  situated  on  one 
of  the  branches  of  the  Ohio,  which  we  passed  in  a  boat, 
carriage  and  all.  I  began  to  cheer  up  at  the  prospect  of 
the  termination  of  our  journey  by  land.  Tired,  stiff- 
necked,  and  crammed  into  a  waggon.  ...  I  was  by  no 
means  in  the  best  of  humor.  Our  whole  journey  of  to-day 
was  employed  in  ascending  and  descending  the  different 
ridges  of  the  Allegany. 

One  of  the  celebrated  travelers  of  early  days  on  the  Na 
tional  Road  was  Joseph  Meek,  the  curious  character  sent 
from  Oregon  to  seek  the  aid  of  President  Polk  because  of 
the  anxieties  caused  by  the  Cayuse  War.  After  an  ad 
venturous  overland  journey,  and  a  spectacular  trip  down 
the  Mississippi  and  up  the  Ohio,  he  arrived  in  Wheeling 
just  too  late  to  take  the  regular  stage  for  Cumberland.6 

Walking  into  the  stage  office,  he  asked  if  he  might  have 
a  conveyance.  The  astonished  official  looked  at  the  out 
landish  dress  of  the  tall  man  before  him,  and  asked  who 
he  was.  "I  am  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  from  the  Republic  of  Oregon  to  the  Court 
of  the  United  States,"  was  his  reply.  Examination  of  his 
credentials  bore  out  his  claim,  so  an  extra  coach  was  ordered 
at  once,  and  he  was  offered  free  transportation  as  far  as 
the  relay  house.  Others  took  advantage  of  the  unexpected 
opportunity  to  continue  their  journey,  and  during  the  long 
hours  on  the  way  Meek  told  them  wonderful  tales  of  the 
frontier. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Washington,  satisfactory  ar 
rangements  were  made  for  the  government  of  the  new 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      57 

Northwest,  and  he  was  sent  back,  in  company  with  twenty- 
five  men,  the  suite  of  the  new  Governor  of  Oregon.  Along 
the  National  Road  the  party  took  their  way,  and  in  due 
time  they  reached  the  Pacific  Coast 


II.     STRUGGLES    WITH    THE    ALLEGHENIES 

Morn  on  the  Alleghenies !  on  their  side, 
Crossing  a  rocky  promontory's  brow, 
That  juts  out  o'er  the  wilderness  below, 
A  band  of  emigrants  may  be  descried. 

Upon  the  naked  promontory's  brow 

That  overhung  the  wilderness  below, 

The  traveler  paused  to  look  upon  the  scene; 

The  wife  upon  her  husband's  arm  did  lean, 

And  he  upon  his  rifle  silently. 

Hushed  even  was  happy  childhood's  morning  glee. 

The  vastness  of  the  scene  weighed  down  the  sense, 

The  man  felt  nothing  but  his  impotence, 

And  His  supremacy  who  reigns  alone, 

The  earth  His  footstool  and  the  heaven  His  throne. 

— Ephraim  Peabody. 

A  LITTLE  north  of  the  road  taken  by  Meek  on  his  way  to 
Wheeling  was  a  second  route  to  the  Ohio  river.  Those 
who  chose  this  route  went  by  the  old  Conestoga  road  to 
Lancaster,  then  to  Carlisle  by  a  rough  track,  and  on  to 
Pittsburg  by  way  of  Bedford  and  Fort  Ligonier,  or  by  a 
route  which  bore  to  the  left,  four  miles  from  Bedford,  and 
passed  through  Somerset.  This  latter  road,  which  was  built 
on  an  old  Indian  path,  was  known  as  the  Glade  Road.  In 
1755,  when  Braddock  was  on  his  way  to  Pittsburg  by 
the  lower  route,  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  at  work 
cutting  a  way  to  Pittsburg  through  Bedford.  The  work 
was  being  done  at  Braddock's  request,  that  he  might  have 
a  short  route  for  supplies  from  Philadelphia.  WThen  the 
roadmakers  were  four  miles  beyond  Bedford,  they  heard 
the  news  of  Braddock's  defeat,  and  discontinued  work. 

Later  General  Forbes  led  a  force  of  six  thousand  men 

58 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      59 

along  this  road,  on  his  way  to  Fort  Du  Quesne.  From 
Fort  Bedford  he  completed  the  pathway  through  the  forest, 
over  the  mountains  and  along  the  water  courses.  One  by 
one  tremendous  obstacles  were  overcome.  The  French  at 
Fort  Du  Quesne  learned  that  a  man  of  might  was  making 
his  way  to  them  through  the  wilderness,  and  they  decided 
that  flight  would  be  better  than  fight;  so  when  General 
Forbes  reached  Pittsburg  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  occupy 
the  fort  in  peace.  Thus,  as  Francis  Parkman  says,  General 
Forbes  "opened  the  great  West  to  English  enterprise,  took 
from  France  half  her  savage  allies,  and  relieved  the  western 
borders  from  the  scourge  of  Indian  War." 

This  northern  route,  with  its  branches,  known  as  the 
Forbes  Road,  the  Raystown  Road,  the  Glade  Road,  or  the 
Turkey  Foot  Road  (because  it  touched  the  forks  of  the 
Youghiogheny,  which  were  arranged  like  the  toes  of  a 
turkey),  became  the  highway  for  soldiers,  the  route  of  ad 
venturers,  the  pathway  of  emigrants  whose  eyes  were  fixed 
on  Wheeling  or  Pittsburg  and  the  country  beyond  these 
settlements.  As  is  indicated  by  the  stories  of  some  of  the 
emigrants  (quoted  later  in  the  chapter),  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Road  gradually  replaced  the  Glade  Road.  In  many 
places  the  routes  were  identical. 

An  early  traveler  7  by  this  upper  road  to  the  Ohio  gave 
this  table  of  stations  and  distances: 

Philadelphia  to  Lancaster 66 

To  Middle-town , 26 

To  Harris'  Ferry 10 

To  Carlisle    , 17 

To  Shippenburg    21 

To  Chamber'stown n 

To  Fort  Loudon 13 

To  Fort  Littleton ,  18 

To  Juniata  Creek 19 

To  Bedford 14 

To  Foot  of  the  Allegany  Mountain 15 

To  Stony  Creek   15 


60          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

To  East  side  Laurel  Hill 12 

To  Fort  Ligonier , 9 

To   Pittsburgh    % 54 

Total    (. 320 

When  the  road  through  these  stations  was  a  mere  path 
through  the  forest,  impassable  for  wagons,  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  pack-horses  threaded  their  way  single  file 
along  the  narrow  track.  Usually  there  were  but  from  ten  to 
fifteen  horses  in  a  company,  for  this  was  all  that  two  men 
could  manage ;  one  of  these  men  went  in  advance,  while  the 
other  brought  up  the  rear. 

The  track  had  become  a  road  when,  on  April  4,  1785, 
Laurence  Butler  8  set  out  from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia  to 
survey  the  lands  given  by  Virginia  to  the  Revolutionary 
soldiers.  His  own  portion  as  a  captain  was  four  thousand 
acres,  and  he  was  eager  to  view  his  estate.  One  day  he 
wrote : 

Crossed  a  mountain  called  the  Blue  Ridge  which  is  only 
passable  at  certain  places.  .  .  .  We  travelled  through  a 
mountainous  country  of  about  eighty  miles  and  crossed  a 
number  of  little  rivers,  some  of  which  we  were  obliged  to 
swim  over  on  our  horses,  having  no  ferries,  to  the  foot  of 
the  largest  mountain  in  North  America  called  the  Alligany. 
This  mountain  is  64  miles  over,  though  there  are  several 
small  rivers  in  it.  When  we  reached  the  top  of  the  moun 
tain  we  found  the  snow  to  be  three  feet  deep,  which  was  on 
the  1 5th  April,  and  before  we  got  there  saw  no  snow  at 
all.  Our  horses  could  hardly  travel,  and  as  we  descended 
the  mountain  the  snow  grew  less  and  less,  and  before  we 
arrived  at  the  bottom  there  was  none  at  all.  The  rivers  in 
the  mountain  were  very  full  of  water,  on  account  of  the 
snow  melting,  which  obliged  us  to  swim  several  of  them,  as 
there  were  no  boats  and  very  few  inhabitants  on  this  cold 
mountain.  We  were  obliged  to  make  fires  at  night,  and 
lay  out  of  doors  on  the  blankets  which  we  carried  with  us. 
About  the  I7th  we  arrived  at  a  river  called  the  Mononga- 
halia  which  was  about  400  yards  wide  and  runs  into  the 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      61 

Ohio.  We  travelled  about  300  miles  and  then  fell  in  with 
eight  gentlemen  who  were  bound  for  this  new  country; 
among  them  were  several  brother  officers  who  had  served 
in  our  army  in  last  war.  Workmen  were  engaged  to  build 
us  a  boat  forty-two  feet  long  and  fourteen  feet  wide  which 
was  finished  in  two  days.  We  left  that  place  about  the  end 
of  April;  there  were  ten  of  us  in  the  boat,  with  as  many 
horses.  The  next  day  about  sunset  we  arrived  at  a  town 
called  Fort  Pitt. 

The  adventures  of  John  Filson9  on  this  road  in  1785 
are  typical  of  the  experiences  of  the  pioneers  on  their 
journey  to  Pittsburg: 

In  the  spring  of  1785  he  secured  a  Jersey  wagon  with  a 
canvas  top  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  himself  and  such 
articles  as  he  wanted  to  carry  with  him  to  Kentucky.  It 
seems  that  he  had  but  one  horse  to  draw  his  wagon  built 
for  two,  and  consequently  he  made  arrangements  with  John 
Rice  Jones,  a  young  lawyer  who  wished  to  go  to  Kentucky, 
to  use  a  horse  belonging  to  Jones  in  his  team  and  furnish 
seats  in  the  wagon  for  the  wife  and  child  of  Jones.  With 
the  Joneses  as  passengers  and  their  luggage  added  to  some 
books  and  maps  and  other  articles  of  his  own  for  freight, 
the  vehicle  set  out  from  Wilmington  April  25,  1785,  and 
arrived  at  Philadelphia  the  same  day.  On  the  following 
day  it  started  on  the  long,  weary,  mountainous  road  to 
Pittsburg. 

He  reached  Pittsburg  on  May  26,  and  the  fact  that 
twenty-six  days  were  consumed  in  making  the  trip  affords 
some  idea  of  the  difficulties  of  travel  in  those  days.  The 
average  distance  made  per  day  was  about  twelve  miles,  and 
the  members  of  the  party  were  thankful  to  accomplish  that 
much  in  the  midst  of  the  obstacles  that  beset  them.  No 
wonder  Jones  was  out  of  sorts  when  he  reached  Pittsburg. 
Filson  had  to  doctor  him,  which  he  did  by  administering 
two  doses  of  Peruvian  bark,  and  two  "vomits,"  for  which 
he  charged  nine  shillings. 


62          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Jones  later  told  of  Filson  that  on  one  occasion  "while 
their  wagon  was  crossing  the  mountains,  Filson,  being  in 
front  and  leading  the  horses,  stooped  down  to  examine  a 
curious  sod.  .  .  .  One  of  the  horses  passed  on  each  side  of 
him,  and  the  wagon  went  over  him  until  the  rear  axletree 
was  above  his  head.  Filson  threw  up  his  head,  which,  com 
ing  in  contact  with  the  axletree,  pretty  nearly  made  an  end 
of  him.  He  was  almost  scalped,  and  made  the  balance  of 
the  way  to  Pittsburgh  with  a  bandaged  head." 

On  September  27,  1787,  Mrs.  Mary  De  Wees10  set  out 
from  Philadelphia  for  Kentucky.  She  was  not  in  good 
health,  and  her  friends  feared  that  she  would  never  reach 
her  journey's  end,  yet  the  trip  proved  to  be  the  very  tonic 
she  needed.  Her  condition  is  apparent  from  her  statement, 
as  written  to  a  friend  in  Philadelphia: 

Lost  all  the  fine  prospects  the  first  day  owing  to  my 
sickness,  which  was  excessive,  being  obliged  to  be  led  from 
the  Waggon  to  the  bed  and  from  the  bed  to  the  Waggon. 

On  October  2  she  told  of  improvement: 

Will  you  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  I  am  setting  on  the 
Banks  of  the  Susquehannah  and  can  take  my  bit  of  ham 
and  Biscuit  with  any  of  them. 

Later  she  wrote: 

Set  off  for  the  North  Mountain,  which  we  find  so  bad 
we  are  Obliged  to  foot  it  up,  and  could  compair  ourselves 
to  nothing  but  a  parcel  of  goats.  .  .  .  Find  this  the  most 
fatiguing  days  Journey  we  have  had,  the  roads  so  very 
bad  and  so  very  steep,  that  the  horses  seem  ready  to  fall 
backwards.  In  many  places,  you  would  be  surprised  to  see 
the  Children  Jumping  and  Skiping,  sometimes  quite  out  of 
sight,  sometimes  on  horseback,  sometimes  in  the  Waggon. 
.  .  .  The  sight  of  a  log  house  on  these  Mountains  after  a 
fatiguing  days  Journey  affords  more  real  pleasure  than  all 
the  magnificent  buildings  your  city  contains. 

October  9.     Crossed  Sidling  hill  and  were  the  greatest 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      63 

part  of  the  day  in  performing  the  Journey,  the  roads  being  • 
so  excessive  Steep,  sidling  and  Stony,  that  it  seemed  im 
possible  to  get  along.  We  were  obliged  to  walk  the  greatest 
part  of  the  way  up,  tho'  not  without  company;  there  was 
five  waggons  with  us  all  this  morning  to  different  parts. 
This  night  our  difficulties  began;  we  were  obliged  to  put 
up  at  a  cabin  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  perhaps  a  dozen  logs 
upon  one  another,  with  a  few  slabs  for  a  roof,  and  the 
earth  for  a  floor,  and  a  Wooden  Chimney  constituted  this 
extraordinary  Ordinary.  .  .  .  There  were  between  twenty 
and  thirty  of  us,  all  lay  on  the  floor,  [except  three,  who  had 
abed.] 

October  n.  Fell  in  with  a  French  Gentleman  and  his 
family  going  to  Pittsburgh ;  we  all  put  up  at  a  little  hut  on 
the  Mountain,  which  was  so  small  that  we  prefferred  lodg 
ing  in  our  waggon  to  be  crowded  with  Frenchmen  and 
negroes  on  an  earthen  floor. 

October  13.  We  in  Company  with  another  Waggon 
were  obliged  to  Encamp  in  the  woods,  after  a  Suitable 
place  at  a  Convenient  distance  from  a  run  of  water  was 
found,  a  level  piece  of  ground  was  pitched  upon  for  our 
encampment.  Our  men  went  to  give  refreshment  to  the 
Horses,  we  Females,  having  had  a  good  fire  made  up,  set 
about  preparing  Supper,  which  consisted  of  an  Excellent 
dish  of  Coffee,  having  milk  with  us,  those  who  chose  had 
a  dish  of  cold  ham  and  pickled  beets,  with  the  addition  of 
Bread,  Butter,  Biscuit  and  Cheese,  made  up  our  repast. 
After  supper,  Sister,  the  children  and  myself  took  up  our 
lodging  in  the  waggon,  the  men  with  their  Blankets  laid 
down  at  the  fireside. 

October  15.  You  would  be  surprised  to  see  the  number 
of  packhorses  which  travel  these  roads,  ten  or  twelve  in  a 
drove.  In  going  up  the  North  Mountain,  Betsy  took  it  into 
her  head  to  ride  a  horseback,  and  Daddy  undertook  to 
escort  her  on  his.  In  a  narrow  path,  at  the  edge  of  a  very 
steep  place,  they  met  with  a  company  of  packers,  when  her 
horse  took  it  into  his  noodle  not  to  stir  one  foot,  but  stood 
and  received  a  thump  behind  from  every  pack  that  pass'd, 
and  whilst  Betsy  was  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  trepidation, 
expecting  every  moment  to  be  thrown  from  her  horse,  her 


64          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Gallant  instead  of  flying  to  her  assistance,  stood  laughing 
ready  to  kill  himself  at  the  fun;  but  the  poor  girl  really 
looked  pitiable. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogheny  the  party  took  boat 
to  Pittsburg,  where  they  waited  for  the  wagons  with  the 
rest  of  the  family  goods. 

The  year  after  Mrs.  De  Wees  made  her  trip  to  Pitts- 
burg  Colonel  Israel  Shreve,  father  of  Henry  M.  Shreve, 
for  whom  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  was  named,  traveled  from 
his  New  Jersey  home  to  Philadelphia,  and  from  there  to 
Pittsburg.  In  his  party  were  a  number  of  men,  women  and 
children,  who  made  use  of  four  two-horse  wagons  and  two 
three-horse  wagons.  Four  cows  followed  the  wagons. 

On  July  10  Colonel  Shreve  wrote  in  his  Journal  i11 

"13^2  miles  only,  occasioned  by  bad  Roads  and  Crossing 
the  South  Mountain  and  one  of  my  waggons  .  .  .  over 
setting,  bottom  upwards,  to-day  the  women  were  much 
fatigued  by  walking.  Sarah  Hervey  walked  eight  and  a 
half  miles  over  the  Hill  at  one  heat/' 

Extracts  only  of  the  journal  follow: 

July  ii.  Set  out  and  passed  over  Roads  full  of  bad 
mud-holes  .  .  .  hindered  this  morning  by  getting  clasps 
put  round  the  felloe  of  a  wheel. 

July  12.     Paraded  our  beds  in  a  barn. 

July  14.    Forded  a  rapid  Creek  called  Yellow  Breeches. 

July  1 6.  When  we  dined  at  Tavern  we  always  made  use 
of  our  own  provision.  Set  out  again  in  a  hard  rain,  by  ad 
vice  took  the  right  hand  road  that  leads  over  the  three 
hills,  lately  opened  and  made  by  a  Mr.  Skinner  from  Jersey. 

July  17.  All  in  good  health  and  high  spirits.  .  .  .  Set 
out  and  ascended  the  first  Mountain  so  steep  that  we  were 
obliged  to  double  the  team  to  get  up  and  very  stony  going 
down  the  other  side  ...  8  miles  to-day. 

July  1 8.  Set  out  again  and  rose  the  second  hill  called 
the  North  Mountain,  this  as  steep  and  stony  as  the  first. 
»  .  .  Coming  down  the  last  Hill  Daniel  Hervey  left  his 
stallion  to  follow  the  waggon,  the  horse  took  an  old  path 


THE   FIRST   PORTRAIT  OF   WASHINGTON 

From  "The  Magazine  of  American  History" 


From  8choolcraft'»  "Historical  Conditions  mid  Prospects 
of  the  Indians  in  the  Untied  Staff*' 


PITTSBURG   IX    1790 


MARKKR    OX    THE    WILDERNESS    ROAD 

Photograph  by  the  United  States 
Forest  Service 


TABLET   AT   THE    HOME    OF    3IAJOR    AliTIIl'R    ST.    CLAIR, 
NEAR   GREEXSBURG,    PENNSYLVANIA 


OLD  FORT  GADDIS,   NEAR   UNIONTOWN,   PENNSYLVANIA 


HENRY    CLAY   MONUMENT   AT    ELM    GROVE,   WEST   VIRGINIA 

(Built  to  commemorate  his  work  for  the  National  Uoad) 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      65 

and  caused  several  hours  search  before  he  was  found 
stripped  of  all  his  gears  but  the  collar.  .  .  .  Had  the  mis 
fortune  to  break  one  of  my  Waggon  wheels,  sent  it  on  this 
evening  to  be  repaired,  8  miles  only  today :  This  is  the  place 
called  the  Burnt  Cabins,  where  the  road  that  passes  through 
Chambers  Town  comes  into  the  old  Road  said  to  be  twenty 
miles  farther  than  the  new  one  but  much  better.  .  .  .  Our 
women  complain  heavily  on  account  of  being  obliged  to 
walk  on  foot  over  the  Mountain. 

July  20.  Sent  the  repaired  wheel  to  the  Waggon,  About 
eleven  o'clock  had  a  further  hindrance  by  having  three 
shoes  put  on,  heavy  complaints  among  the  Women. 

July  21.  Set  out  and  ascended  Sideling  Hill  up  a  good 
new  Road  made  by  said  Skinner*  .  .  .  Went  on  over  ex 
ceedingly  stony  roads  to  Rays  Hill.  Here  cut  saplings 
and  chained  to  our  Waggons,  this  hill  steep,  gullied,  and 
very  stony.  Skinners  men  at  work  making  a  new  Road 
down  .  .  .  one  felloe  of  one  of  my  Waggons  gave  way. 

July  22.  Passed  through  Bedford,  halted  for  a  horse 
shoe  .  .  .  halted  at  John  Bonnet's  Tavern  at  the  forks  of 
the  old  Pennsylvania  and  Glade  Roads,  15  miles  to-day. 

July  24.  Ann  Beck  daughter  of  Joseph  Beck  departed 
this  life  to  the  great  grief  of  her  parents,  more  so  on  ac 
count  of  being  far  distant  from  their  former  home. 

July  25.  Send  to  Berlin  for  a  Coffin  which  arrived  to 
wards  evening  when  the  child  was  decently  interred.  .  .  . 

July  26.  Hired  George  Pancakes  and  two  horses  to  put 
before  my  heaviest  waggon  for  8/4  per  day  and  find  him 
and  horses.  Set  out,  halted  at  a  Blacksmiths,  had  two 
clasps  put  on  my  Waggon  wheel  and  one  horse  shoe  put  on. 

July  27.  Set  out  and  after  going  a  few  hundred  yards 
missed  the  most  material  part  of  Daniel  Harvey's  property, 
it  having  gone  before  and  taken  a  wrong  road,  a  hue  and 
cry  was  raised  when  to  his  great  joy  it  was  found  unhurt. 
.  .  .  Ascended  to  the  top  of  the  Mountain  over  miry  and 
stony  Roads,  then  soon  began  to  descend,  first  down  a  short 
steep  hill,  then  a  long,  gradual  descent  through  Chestnut 

*  The  road  work  done  by  Mr.  Skinner  was  paid  for  by  the  State. 
The  road  over  North  Mountain  cost  £/oo,  while  that  over  Sideling 
Hill  cost  £750. 


66          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Brush, .  .  .  this  Road  down  is  over  logs  and  stones  enough  to 
dash  all  to  pieces :  at  length  we  arrived  at  a  house  in  Lege- 
near  Valley.  .  .  .  Our  women  exceedingly  fatigued  by 
walking  over  the  Mountain. 

July  28.  Set  out  again  and  found  the  steepest  hill  we 
had  met  with,  in  going  up  Chestnut  Hill  were  obliged  to 
put  six  horses  to  one  of  the  heaviest  waggons.  Descend 
the  Ridge  and  come  into  the  other  road,  which  is  so  miry 
as  to  sink  the  waggons  in  many  places,  stopped  at  a  Black 
smith  and  had  one  shoe  put  on  one  of  my  horses.  Set  out 
again  and  met  Joseph  Wood  on  his  way  to  Jersey  from 
Little  Kenhaway,  he  informed  me  that  a  house  was  ready 
for  me  in  the  forks  of  Youghiana,  went  on  and  was  over 
taken  by  John  Fox  with  the  intelligence  that  one  of  Daniel 
Harvey's  Waggons  had  broke  down.  .  .  .  D.  Harvey  last 
evening  in  coming  from  his  Waggon  to  Mr.  Bennetts,  got 
out  of  the  Road,  it  being  very  dark  he  could  not  find  it 
again  and  was  forced  to  take  up  his  lodging  in  the  Woods 
until  day. 

i  July  29.  Sent  for  D.  Harvey's  broken  waggon  and  got 
a  new  axle-tree  put  in.  We  are  now  clear  of  the  Moun 
tains  over  which  we  have  with  much  difficulty  got  so  far 
safely  except  the  misfortune  of  losing  the  child. 

August  i.  All  well,  after  a  very  fatigueing  journey  of 
25  days  since  leaving  Jersey.  The  house  provided  for  me 
is  a  new  one,  30  feet  by  26,  two  stories  high,  built  of  hewed 
white  oak  logs,  with  a  very  good  stone  chimney.  The 
house  is  not  finished,  no  family  having  lived  in  it  till  we 
came.  We  set  to,  stopped  it  with  lime  and  clay,  laid  the 
upper  floor  with  Chirety  [cherry?]  boards,  and  it  is  now 
pretty  comfortable  for  Summer. 

As  to  the  inhabitants,  they  are  mostly  from  Jersey,  very 
kind  to  new  comers,  as  well  as  to  one  another;  they  live  in 
a  plain  way,  not  spending  much  in  Dress  and  foppery,  but 
are  well  provided  with  the  real  necessaries  of  life. 

On  December  26,  1789,  Colonel  Shreve  wrote  to  his 
brother  from  "Forks  of  Yough,"  that  he  had  obtained  the 
whole  tract  of  Washington's  Bottoms,  on  rent,  for  five 
years.  'The  General  was  pleased  to  let  me  have  the  whole 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING     67 

of  the  Bottoms  at  my  own  offer.  .  .  .  The  old  farm  con 
tains  about  80  acres  of  improved  upland,  and  about  40  of 
the  best  kind  of  meadow,  a  bearing  orchard  of  120  apple 
and  100  peach  trees:  the  buildings  as  good  as  most  in  this 
Country  .  .  .  and  four  other  improved  farms,  that  at  this 
time  rent  for  £43/10.  I  am  accountable  for  the  whole  rent 
which  altogether  is  £60." 

His  reasons  for  making  the  lease  he  gave  thus : 

I  considered  that  land  at  the  Miami  Settlement  was  ris 
ing  fast,  and  that  I  had  better  pay  this  low  rent  for  a  well 
improved  farm  than  barter  away  my  land  at  a  low  rate 
for  land  here — Land  does  not  rise  much  in  this  place,  owing 
to  the  general  emigration  down  the  River.  It  seems  as  if 
people  were  crazy  to  get  afloat  on  the  Ohio.  Many,  having 
very  good  livings  here,  set  out  for  they  know  not  where, 
but  too  often  find  their  mistake. 

On  Monday,  April  14,  1788,  Colonel  John  May12  set 
out  on  horseback,  in  company  with  two  companions,  "And 
.  .  .  stood  for  the  wilderness  of  the  Western  World." 

He  told  of  ascending  the  "South  or  Blue  Mountain, 
which,  at  a  distance,  has  a  terrible  appearance  to  a  stranger 
tired  and  worn  down  by  constant  fatigue.  But  the  more 
we  approach  it  the  less  formidable  it  appears.  Instead  of 
climbing  this  son  of  Alleghana,  we  steal  in  imperceptibly 
between  two  monstrous  hills  for  a  number  of  miles;  but 
finally  have  to  climb  stoutly  ere  we  reach  the  top.  While 
we  are  between  these  hills  .  .  .  we  advance  by  the  side  of 
a  swift  running  rivulet  for  a  considerable  distance,  and 
cross  the  same  stream,  in  a  distance  of  two  miles,  twelve 
times.  .  .  ." 

From  Mercersburg,  at  the  foot  of  North  Mountain, 
Colonel  May  mounted  his  horse,  "in  order  to  mount  the 
mountain."  "This  mountain  is  ten  miles  over,"  he  con 
tinued.  "It  took  us  three  hours  and  a  half  to  cross  it.  It 
is,  I  can  truly  say,  the  hardest  to  climb  we  have  yet  at 
tempted,  and  makes  one  of  the  four  capital  ranges  of  moun- 


68  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

tains  which  belong  to  the  family  of  Alleghana,  and  the  sight 
of  which  generally  strikes  such  terror  into  travelers.  This, 
with  his  father  and  mother,  separate  the  Eastern  from  the 
Western  world.  The  names  of  this  ancient  family  are: 
Alleghana,  North  Mountain,  South  Mountain,  Sideling 
Ridge,  Laurel  Mountain,  and  Chestnut  Ridge." 
The  story  of  the  journey  continued : 

May  3.  At  10  o'clock  to-day  we  were  on  the  ridge-pole, 
and  Noah-like,  could  look  into  the  old  world  and  new. 
These  mountains  I  consider  as  the  backbone  of  the  con 
tinent,  this  tremendous  range  reaching  from  Cape  Horn 
to  the  North  Pole  .  .  .  and  so  high  is  it  that  it  is  itself 
fixed  on  the  top  of  the  everlasting  hills. 

F.  A.  Michaux,13  a  French  traveler,  who  went  this  way 
in  1802,  would  have  been  able  to  sympathize  with  the 
women  in  Colonel  Shreve's  party  who  had  to  walk  over  the 
mountain.  He  rode  by  stage  as  far  as  Shippensburg,  but 
there  it  became  necessary  to  proceed  by  his  own  convey 
ance.  He  tried  to  buy  a  horse,  but  was  disgusted  by  the 
avarice  of  natives,  who,  taking  advantage  of  travelers, 
sought  to  make  them  pay  more  than  double.  At  length  he 
bought  an  animal,  in  partnership  with  an  American  officer, 
who  had  been  a  fellow  traveler  on  the  stage.  The  men 
agreed  to  ride  and  walk  by  turns. 

George  Imlay,  when  passing  through  Pennsylvania,  had 
his  share  of  trouble  with  conveyances,  and  he  thought  it 
worth  while  to  write,14  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  should 
come  after  him,  full  directions  as  to  conveyance.  He  said : 

Travelers  or  emigrants  take  different  methods  of  trans* 
porting  their  baggage,  goods,  or  furniture,  from  the  places 
they  may  be  at  to  the  Ohio,  according  to  circumstances,  or 
their  object  in  coming  to  the  country.  For  instance,  if  a 
man  is  traveling  only  for  curiosity,  or  has  no  family  or 
goods  to  remove,  his  best  way  would  be  to  purchase  a  horse 
and  take  the  route  through  the  Wilderness;  but  provided 
he  has  a  family,  or  goods  of  any  sort  to  remWe,  his  best 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING     69 

way  then  would  be  to  purchase  a  waggon  and  team  of 
horses  to  carry  his  property  to  Redstone  Olde  Forte,  or  to 
Pittsburg.  .  .  .  The  waggon  may  be  covered  with  canvas, 
and,  if  it  is  the  choice  of  the  people,  they  may  sleep  in  it  at 
night  with  the  greatest  safety.  But  if  they  should  dislike 
that,  there  are  inns  of  accommodation  the  whole  distance 
on  the  different  roads.  .  .  .  By  having  two  or  three  camp 
kettles,  and  stopping  every  evening  when  the  weather  is 
fine  upon  the  bank  of  some  rivulet,  and  by  kindling  a  fire, 
they  may  soon  dress  their  food.  .  .  .  True,  the  charges  at 
inns  on  those  roads  are  remarkably  reasonable,  but  I  have 
mentioned  these  particulars  as  there  are  many  unfortunate 
people  in  the  world  to  whom  the  saving  of  every  shilling  is 
an  object. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  narratives  of  experiences  in 
crossing  Pennsylvania  is  that  of  Margaret  D  wight,15  the 
niece  of  President  Timothy  D  wight,  of  Yale  College,  who 
in  1810  went  by  wagon  from  New  Haven  to  Warren,  Ohio, 
in  the  party  of  Deacon  Wolcott  and  his  wife  and  daughter. 
The  route  taken  was  by  way  of  Easton  and  Bethlehem  to 
Carlisle. 

At  a  tavern  on  the  way  an  old  lady  asked,  "Well,  Gals, 
where  are  you  going?"  "To  New  Connecticut^"  was  the 
reply.  "You  bant  tho,"  was  the  surprised  rejoinder.  "Why 
what  a  long  journey!  Do  you  ever  expect  to  get  there? 
How  far  is  it?"  "Near  600  miles,"  she  was  told.  "Your 
husbands  with  you?"  was  the  next  question.  "No,  ma'am," 
came  the  answer.  At  this  the  old  lady  could  not  contain 
herself.  "Not  got  your  husbands!"  she  said.  "Well,  I 
don't  know — they  say  there's  wild  Indians  there." 

Concerning  an  inn  Miss  Dwight  wrote: 

The  house  is  very  small  &  very  dirty — it  serves  for  a 
tavern,  a  store,  &  I  should  imagine  hog's  pen  stable  & 
everything  else.  The  air  is  so  impure  I  have  scarcely  been 
able  to  swallow  since  I  enter'd  the  house.  Every  kind  of 
thing  in  the  room  where  they  live — a  chicken  half  picked 
hangs  over  the  door  &  pots,  kettles,  dirty  dishes,  potatoe 


70          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

barrels  &  every  thing  else  &  the  old  woman  it  is  beyond  my 
power  to  describe  her.  She  is  a  fat,  dirty,  ugly  looking 
creature,  yet  I  must  confess  very  obliging.  .  .  .  Our  room 
is  just  large  enough  to  contain  a  bed,  a  chair  and  a  very 
small  stand — our  bed  has  one  brown  sheet  &  one  pillow — 
the  sheet  however  appear'd  to  be  clean,  which  was  more 
than  we  got  at  Nash's — there  we  were  all  obliged  to  sleep  in 
the  same  room  without  curtain  or  any  other  screen  &  our 
sheets  there  were  so  dirty  I  was  afraid  to  sleep  there. 

A  few  days  later  this  entry  was  made  in  the  Journal : 

I  am  almost  discouraged — we  shall  never  get  to  New 
Connecticutt  or  anywhere  else,  at  the  rate  we  go  on.  We 
went  but  eleven  miles  yesterday  &  13  to-day. 

When  the  party  was  ten  miles  west  of  Carlisle  she  wrote : 

We  came  but  a  little  peice,  as  the  Dutchmen  say,  today, 
&  are  in  a  most  curious  place  tonight.  If  possible  1 1 will 
describe  it.  It  is  a  log  hut  built  across  the  road  from  the 
tavern,  for  movers — that  the  landlord  need  not  be  bother' d 
with  them.  Had  it  been  possible  for  our  horses  to  have 
reached  another  inn  we  should  not  have  staid  with  the  cross 
old  dutch  fellow — we  have  a  good  fire,  a  long  dirty  table, 
a  few  boards  nailed  up  for  a  closet,  a  dozen  long  boards  in 
one  side  &  as  many  barrels  in  the  other — 2  benches  to  set 
on,  two  bottomless  chairs,  &  a  floor  containing  dirt  enough 
to  plant  potatoes.  The  man  says  he  has  been  so  bothered 
with  movers,  that  he  has  taken  down  his  sign,  for  he  does 
not  need  his  tavern  to  live.  If  we  had  a  mind  to  stay  we 
might,  but  if  we  chose  to  go  on  he  had  no  objection. 

Of  another  experience  she  said: 

.  .  .  Last  night  Susan  &  I  went  to  bed  early,  as  we  slept 
ill  the  night  before  .  .  .  we  were  put  in  an  old  garret  that 
had  holes  in  the  roof  big  enough  to  crawl  through.  Our 
bed  was  on  the  floor,  harder  it  appear'd  to  me,  than  boards 
could  be  &  dirty  as  possible — a  dirty  feather  bed  our  only 
covering. 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      71 

After  crossing  one  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  she  said : 

We  all  walk'd  the  whole  distance  over — I  did  not  stop 
at  all  to  rest  till  I  reach'd  the  top  ...  It  is  not  a  little 
fatiguing  to  walk  up  a  long  mountain  I  find — When  we  had 
nearly  reach'd  the  foot  of  it,  we  heard  some  music  in  the 
valley  below  .  .  .  soon  found  it  was  from  the  bells  of  a 
waggoner — He  had  twelve  bells  on  the  collars  of  his  horses, 
(not  sleigh  bells)  &  they  made  a  great  variety  of  sounds 
which  were  really  musical  at  a  distance. 

This  was  written  of  an  adventure  at  a  roadside  inn : 

...  I  was  very  much  frightened  by  a  drunken  wag 
goner,  who  came  up  to  me,  as  I  stood  by  the  door,  ...  he 
put  his  arm  round  my  neck,  &  said  something  which  I  was 
too  frightened  to  hear.  It  is  the  first  time  the  least  insult  has 
been  offered  to  any  of  us. 

Other  illuminating  entries  in  the  Journal  may  be  quoted  T 

We  have  concluded  the  reason  so  few  are  willing  to 
return  from  the  Western  Country  is  not  that  the  country 
is  so  good,  but  because  the  journey  is  so  bad. 

.  .  .  The  stream  runs  so  fast,  that  we  did  not  dare  cross 
it  alone,  as  there  was  nothing  but  a  log  to  cross  on ;  so  the 
waggoners  &  our  own  party  were  obliged  to  lead  &  pilot 
us  over  the  stream  &  thro'  a  most  shocking  place  as  ever 
I  saw. 

.  .  .  They  say  there  has  been  a  heap  of  people  moving 
this  fall;  I  don't  know  exactly  how  many  a  heap  is,  or  a 
sight  either,  which  is  another  way  of  measuring  people — I 
would  be  apt  to  think  it  was  a  terrible  parcel,  to  use  the 
language  of  the  people  round  me. 

.  .  .  From  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  think  the  State 
of  Ohio  will  be  well  fill'd  before  winter, — Waggons  with 
out  number  every  day  go  on.  One  went  on  containing  forty 
people — We  almost  every  day  see  them  with  18  or  20 — 
one  stopt  here  to-night  with  21. 

Three  years  after  Miss  Dwight's  passage  over  the  moun 
tain  B.  H.  Latrobe  took  his  family  from  Washington  to 


72  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Pittsburg,  where  he  was  to  build  the  Buffalo,  the  fourth 
steamer  on  the  Ohio.  His  son,  John,  then  thirteen  years 
old,  remembered  the  journey  so  well  that  in  later  years  he 
was  able  to  write:16 

The  journey  began  in  our  own  carriage,  drawn  by  Pea 
cock  and  Turkey,  two  stout  bay  horses  that  had  been  for 
some  years  in  service.  And  this  carriage  deserves  descrip 
tion.  It  had  been  built  after  a  design  of  my  father  and  its 
color  was  a  dark  olive  green.  It  had  the  usual  seats  for 
four  persons  vis-a-vis,  and  the  driver's  seat  was  under  the 
same  roof.  But  instead  of  giving  him  the  entire  width  of 
the  seat  a  semi-circular  space  in  the  centre  was  surrounded 
with  a  back,  elbow  high,  on  either  side  of  which  were  nooks 
that  we  children  called  "nests"  and  which  we  occupied  with 
our  backs  to  the  horses  and  our  feet  over  the  front  seat. 
This  gave  us  a  capital  chance  to  talk  with  David,  the  coach 
man,  a  jet  black  little  fellow  who  drove  for  my  father  as 
long  as  the  latter  had  horses  to  drive.  To  obviate  the  possi 
bility  of  one  of  us  children  falling  out  of  the  usual  side 
door,  while  leaning  against  it  to  look  out,  my  father  put 
the  door  behind,  making  it  necessary  to  scramble  over  the 
hind  seat  to  get  into  the  carriage.  The  curtains  were  of 
leather,  and  were  so  contrived  that  by  an  ingenious  arrange 
ment  of  pulleys,  they  could  be  drawn  into  the  roof  instead 
of  being  fastened  at  the  edges  in  the  usual  way.  In  the 
bottom  of  the  vehicle  was  a  well,  a  good  sized  box  that  could 
be  lifted  out,  its  cover  forming  a  part  of  the  floor.  It  was 
waterproof,  as  it  needed  to  be  when  the  carriage  was  cross 
ing  fordable  streams.  I  am  particular  in  this  description 
because  of  the  impression  left  on  my  memory  of  its  re 
markable  contrivances.  fj 

My  impression  is  that  the  first  stage  of  our  journey  was 
Montgomery  Court-House,  from  which  we  dragged  through 
the  long  and  wearying  distance  to  Pittsburgh.  After  pass 
ing  through  Boonsboro  on  the  National  Road  we  had  noth 
ing  better  than  the  common  country  roads  to  travel  on,  and 
how  we  pulled  through  them  with  the  same  pair  of  horses 
is  to  this  day  to  me  a  wonder.  It  rained  nearly  every  day. 
Sometimes  we  would  lay  by  to  rest  the  horses,  sometimes 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      73 

have  to  pass  into  the  fields  to  avoid  the  mudholes  of  the 
road.  I  fell  sick  of  fever  and  ague  and  shook  and  burned 
alternately  for  days. 

The  journey  made  in  May,  1817,  by  Morris  Birkbeck, 
English  emigrant,  began  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  where  he 
landed.  An  interesting  glimpse  of  one  method  of  trans 
portation,  as  well  as  of  expense,  is  afforded  by  his  state 
ment  that  from  Richmond  to  Fredericksburg  he  went  in 
"two  hacks,  which  are  light  coaches  with  two  horses,  a 
Jersey  waggon,  and  one  horse  for  the  baggage."  The  trip 
required  two  days,  and  the  expense  was,  for  the  carriage, 
$70,  and  on  the  road  $33.  'This  for  nine  persons  amounts 
to  52  shillings  each,"  the  emigrant  recorded  in  his  diary.17 
Then  he  made  the  comment,  "dear,  but  very  agreeable 
traveling/' 

The  next  hint  as  to  the  road  is  given  six  days  later  at 
McConnel's  Town:  "The  road  we  have  been  traveling 
terminates  at  this  place,  where  it  strikes  the  great  turnpike 
from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg ;  and  with  the  road  ends  the 
line  of  stages  by  which  we  have  been  traveling;  a  circum 
stance  of  which  we  knew  nothing  until  our  arrival  here, 
having  entered  ourselves  as  passengers  at  Georgetown,  for 
Pittsburg,  by  the  Pittsburg  stage,  as  it  proposed  to  be." 

So  here  we  are,  nine  in  number,  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  of  mountainous  country  between  us  and  Pittsburg. 
We  learn  that  the  stages  which  pass  daily  from  Philadel 
phia  and  Baltimore  are  generally  full,  and  that  there  are 
now  many  persons  waiting  at  Baltimore  for  places;  no 
vehicles  of  any  kind  to  be  hired,  and  here  we  must  either 
stay  or  walk  off :  the  latter  we  prefer ;  and  separating,  each 
our  bundle,  from  the  little  that  we  had  of  travelling  stores, 
we  are  to  undertake  our  mountain  pilgrimage,  accepting  the 
alternative  most  cheerfully,  after  the  dreadful  shaking  of 
the  last  hundred  miles  by  stage. 

The  English  emigrant  was  amazed  when  he  saw  how 
many  companions  he  had  on  the  road.  "We  have  now 


74f          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

fairly  turned  our  backs  on  the  old  world/'  he  said,  "and 
find  ourselves  in  the  very  stream  of  emigration.  Old 
America  seems  to  be  breaking  up,  and  "moving  westward. 
We  are  seldom  out  of  sight,  as  we  travel  on  this  grand 
track  towards  the  Ohio,  of  family  groups  behind,  and 
before  us,  some  with  a  view  to  a  particular  spot,  close  to 
a  brother,  perhaps,  or  a  friend  who  has  gone  before,  and 
reported  well  of  the  country;  many,  like  ourselves,  when 
they  arrive  in  the  wilderness  will  find  no  lodge  prepared 
for  them." 
The  account  proceeded: 

A  small  waggon  so  light  that  you  might  almost  carry  it, 
yet  strong  enough  to  bear  a  good  load  of  bedding  and 
utensils,  and  provisions,  and  a  swarm  of  young  citizens, 
and  to  sustain  marvellous  shocks  in  the  passage  over  these 
rocky  heights,  with  2  small  horses  and  sometimes  a  cow  or 
two,  comprise  their  all:  excepting  a  little  store  of  hard 
earned  cash  for  the  land  office  of  the  district,  where  they 
may  obtain  title  for  as  many  acres  as  they  possess  half  dol 
lars,  being  one-fourth  of  the  purchase  money.  The  waggon 
has  a  tilt  or  cover,  made  of  a  sheet  or  perhaps  a  blanket. 
The  family  are  seen  before,  behind,  or  within  the  vehicle, 
according  to  the  road  or  the  weather  or  perhaps  the  spirits 
of  the  party.  The  New  Englanders,  they  say,  may  be 
known  by  the  cheerfulness  of  the  women  advancing  in 
front  of  the  vehicle ;  the  Jersey  people  by  their  being  fixed 
steadily  within  it;  while  the  Pennsylvanians  creep  lingering 
behind,  as  though  regretting  the  homes  they  have  left.  A 
cart  and  single  horse  frequently  afford  the  means  of  trans 
fer;  sometimes  a  horse  and  pack  saddle.  Often  the  back  of 
the  poor  pilgrim  bears  all  his  effects,  and  his  wife  follows 
bare-footed. 

The  startled  traveler  could  not  help  saying  of  the 
Americans : 

They  are  also  a  migrating  people;  and  even  when  in 
prosperous  circumstances  can  contemplate  a  change  of 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING     75 

situation  which,  tinder  our  old  establishments  and  fixed 
habits,  none  but  the  most  enterprising  would  venture  upon 
when  urged  by  adversity.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  internal 
movements  of  this  vast  hive,  about  12,000  waggons  passed 
between  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  and  this  place,  in  the 
last  year,  with  from  four  to  six  horses  carrying  from  35  to 
40  cwt.  The  cost  of  carriage  is  about  seven  dollars  per  cwt. 
from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  and  the  money  paid  for 
the  conveyance  of  goods  on  the  road  exceeded  £300,000 
sterling.  „ 

Add  to  these  the  numerous  stages  loaded  to  the  utmost, 
and  the  innumerable  travellers  on  horseback,  on  foot,  and 
in  light  waggons,  and  you  have  before  you  a  scene  of  bustle 
and  business,  extending  over  a  space  of  three  hundred 
miles,  which  is  truly  wonderful. 


At  Pittsburg  horses  were  bought,  and  the  party  set  out 
for  Cincinnati  by  land.  "Well  mounted  and  well  furnished 
with  saddle  bags  and  blankets,  we  proceeded,  nine  in  party, 
on  our  westward  course  to  Washington,  Pennsylvania," 
Mr.  Birkbeck  wrote. 

One  day  in  Ohio  a  visit  was  paid  to  the  log  farm-house 
of  an  Irishman  who  had  taken  up  the  land  fourteen  years 
before,  along  a  blazed  road,  across  the  wilderness.  His 
evident  prosperity  and  content  pleased  the  man  who  was 
making  a  like  venture. 

Near  Zanesville,  Ohio,  the  party  was  greeted  by  "four 
industrious  pedestrians,  returning  eastward  from  a  tour  of 
observation  through  this  state."  Evidently  they  had  been 
prospecting.  "One  of  them,  a  hatter,  resolves  to  remain  in 
his  old  position  in  Philadelphia." 

When  at  Madison,  Indiana,  Mr.  Birkbeck  wrote,  "Our 
road  has  been  mostly  from  three  to  six  miles  from  the  river, 
passing  over  fertile  hills  and  alluvial  bottoms.  The  whole 
is  appropriated;  but  although  settlements  multiply  daily, 
many  large  intervals  remain  between  the  clearings." 

Of  an  experience  farther  on  in  Indiana  this  account  was 
given : 


76          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Our  rear  party,  consisting  of  one  of  the  ladies,  a  servant 
boy,  and  myself,  were  benighted  in  consequence  of  an  ac 
cidental  detention,  at  the  foot  of  one  of  these  rugged  hills ; 
and  without  being  well  provided,  wer^  compelled  to  make 
our  first  experiment  of  "camping  out."  A  traveller  in  the 
woods  should  always  carry  flint,  steel,  tinder,  and  matches ; 
a  few  biscuits,  a  half  pint  phial  of  spirits,  and  a  tin  cup,  a 
large  knife  or  tomahawk;  with  them  and  his  two  blankets 
and  his  great  coat  and  umbrella,  he  need  not  be  uneasy 
should  any  unforeseen  delay  require  his  sleeping  under  a 
tree. 

But  the  tinder  and  matches  were  in  the  baggage  of  the 
advance  division,  and  the  night  was  dark  and  rainy.  Al 
ready,  however,  the  English  was  learning  to  be  re 
sourceful.  Taking  his  powder  flask,  he  moistened  a  piece 
of  paper  and  rubbed  it  with  gunpowder.  This  touch  paper 
was  placed  on  an  old  handkerchief.  On  this  gunpowder 
was  scattered.  Flint  and  steel  soon  brought  a  flame,  wood 
was  ignited,  and  a  fire  was  built. 

In  spite  of  such  misadventures,  Mr.  Birkbeck  said,  when 
near  the  end  of  his  long  journey : 

As  to  travelling  in  the  backwoods  of  America,  I  think 
there  is  none  so  agreeable,  after  you  have  used  yourself  to 
repose  on  your  own  pallet  either  on  the  floor  of  a  cabin 
or  under  the  canopy  of  the  woods,  with  an  umbrella  over 
your  head  and  a  noble  fire  at  your  feet.  You  will  then 
escape  the  only  serious  nuisances  of  American  travelling, 
viz.  hot  rooms  and  swarming  beds,  exceeding,  instead  of 
repairing,  the  fatigues  of  the  day.  Some  difficulties  occur 
from  ferries,  awkward  fords,  and  rude  bridges,  with  oc 
casional  swamps;  but  such  is  the  sagacity  and  surefooted- 
ness  of  the  horses  that  accidents  happen  very  rarely. 

At  Shawneetown  the  Englishman  paid  720  dollars,  one- 
fourth  of  the  purchase  money  of  1440  acres  in  what  is  now 
Edwards  County,  Illinois.  His  reason  for  pushing  on  so 
.far  West  he  gave  in  a  later  volume:18 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING     77 

Had  we  remained  in  the  state  of  Ohio  we  must  have 
paid  from  twenty  to  fifty  dollars  per  acre  for  land  which 
is  technically  called  "improved,"  but  is  in  fact  deteriorated; 
or  have  purchased,  at  an  advance  of  1000  or  1500  per  cent 
unimproved  land  from  speculators;  and  in  either  case 
should  have  labored  under  the  inconvenience  of  settling 
detached  from  society  of  our  own  choice,  and  without  the 
advantage  of  choice  as  to  soil  or  situation.  We  saw  many 
eligible  sites  and  fine  tracts  of  country,  but  these  were  pre 
cisely  the  sites  and  the  tracts  which  had  secured  the  attach 
ment  of  their  possessors.  .  .  . 

Having  given  up  the  Ohio,  we  found  nothing  attractive 
on  the  eastern  side  of  Indiana ;  and  situations  to  the  south, 
on  the  Ohio  river  bounding  that  state,  were  so  well  culled 
as  to  be  in  the  predicament  above  described ;  offering  no 
room  for  us  without  great  sacrifice  of  money  and  society. 
The  western  side  of  Indiana,  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash, 
is  liable  to  the  same  and  other  objections.  The  northern 
part  of  Indiana  is  still  in  possession  of  the  Indians. 

But  a  few  miles  farther  west  opened  our  way  into  a 
country  preferable  in  itself  to  any  we  had  seen,  where  we 
could  choose  for  ourselves,  and  to  which  we  could  invite 
our  friends;  and  where,  in  regard  to  communication  with 
Europe,  we  could  command  equal  facilities,  and  foresee 
greater,  than  in  the.  state  of  Ohio,  being  much  nearer  the 
grand  outlet  at  New  Orleans. 

I  expect  to  see  around  me  in  prosperity  many  of  my  old 
neighbors,  whose  hard  fare  has  often  embittered  my  own 
enjoyment.  Three  of  them  have  already  made  the  effort, 
and  succeeded  in  getting  out  to  us.  This  delights  us.  ... 
Two  more  are  waiting  at  Philadelphia  for  an  invitation 
which  is  now  on  its  way.  They  wept  at  parting  with  their 
companions  who  are  now  here,  but  they  waited  further, 
thinking  they  would  never  reach  our  abode  "so  far  west." 

Two  brothers,  and  the  wife  of  one  of  them  .  .  .  have 
made  their  way  out  to  us  ...  They  landed  at  Philadel 
phia,  not  knowing  where  on  this  vast  continent  they  should 
find  us :  from  thence  they  were  directed  to  Pittsburg 
at  Pittsburg  they  bought  a  little  boat   for  six  or  seven 


78          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

dollars  and  Came  gently  down  the  Ohio,  to  Shawneetown: 
from  there  they  proceeded  on  foot  till^they  found  us. 

...  If  it  were  really  so  unwise  to*  migrate  westward, 
out  of  the  tens  (I  was  going  to  say  hundreds)  of  thousands 
who  move  annually  from  the  eastern  states  into  this  west 
ern  wilderness,  we  should  hear  of  some  returning  .  .  . 

Privations  I  cannot  enumerate.  Their  amount  depends 
on  the  previous  habits  and  present  disposition  of  in 
dividuals  :  for  myself  and  family,  the  privations  already  ex 
perienced  or  anticipated  are  of  small  account  compared 
with  the  advantages. 

Always  Mr.  Birkbeck  was  an  optimist.  Once  he  owned 
that  "roads  are  in  a  state  of  nature/'  but  he  added  the 
words,  "as  yet,"  showing  what  he  expected.  Again  he  said 
"By  April  next  I  hope  we  shall  be  fixed  in  our  Cabin  on  the 
prairie;  and  in  two  years  I  hope  to  see  a  populous  and 
thriving  neighborhood,  where  in  July  last  I  could  not  find 
a  single  inhabitant." 


III.     BY  STAGE,  BY  EMIGRANT  WAGON,  AND  ON 

FOOT 

From  the  close-covered  depths  of  the  big  wagon-bed 
Peeped  out  lassie  and  tiny  towhead — 
Half  a  dozen  at  least,  for  the  pioneer's  wife 
Thought  to  people  the  land  was  a  part  of  her  life; 
And  they  huddled  and  whispered,  and  clamored  and  yelled, 
At  the  noises  they  heard  and  the  sights  they  beheld, 
While  the  father  and  mother  contentedly  strode 
Toward  their  far-away  home — down  the  National  Road. 

— James  Ball  Naylor. 

IN  October,  1817,  Henry  Bradshaw  Fearon  went  over 
the  road  to  Pittsburg.  Probably  the  season  was  unusually 
bad,  for,  after  crossing  the  Juniata,  he  wrote : 19 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  badness  of  the  roads;  yet  the 
understanding  between  the  driver  and  his  horses  was  so 
perfect  that  we  proceeded,  though  with  almost  broken 
bones,  with  the  exactness  of  mechanism.  A  London  coach 
man  would  in  half  an  hour  have  dashed  the  strongest  Eng 
lish  stage  to  pieces,  and  probably  broken  the  necks  of  the 
passengers. 

When  crossing  the  Dry  Ridge,  he  spoke  of  the  "great 
numbers  of  families  and  stage  waggons :  some  of  the  former 
were  from  Maine,  and  had  been  out  80  days." 

The  progress  of  the  stage  was  so  slow  that  Mr.  Fearon 
proposed  walking: 

This  afforded  me  an  opportunity  of  entering  into  the 
views  and  little  histories  of  fellow-travellers.  .  .  .  The 
women  I  found  the  most  communicative :  their  husbands 
being  chiefly  engaged  in  dragging  along  their  wretched 
nags.  The  first  I  conversed  with  was  from  Jersey,  out  32 

79 


80          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

days;  she  was  sitting  upon  a  log,  which  served  the  double 
purpose  of  a  seat  and  a  fire ;  their  waggon  had  broken 
clown  the  day  before ;  her  husband  was  with  it  at  a  distant 
blacksmith's;  she  had  been  seated  there  all  night.  .  .  . 

On  Laurel  Hill,  with  the  thermometer  at  six  degrees 
above  zero,  he  came  to  a  family  from  Massachusetts  who 
had  camped  out  during  the  night. 

At  five  o'clock  we  found  them  cooking  potatoes  for 
breakfast.  They  very  freely  offered  us  a  portion  "of  their 
homely  fare.  Perhaps  in  Essex  I  should  have  thought  this 
no  treat — on  Laurel  Ridge  it  was  a  most  acceptable  one; 
so  naturally  does  our  inclination  adapt  itself  to  our  cir 
cumstances.  The  family  consisted  of  ten  persons:  an  old 
lady,  her  son  and  his  wife,  with  seven  children,  of  both 
sexes,  from  two  to  sixteen  years  of  age;  all  in  excellent 
health,  and  full  of  life  and  spirits;  despising  difficulties, 
and  anticipating  a  rich  reward  when  they  arrived  in  the 
"land  of  Canaan. " 

Next  day  Mr.  Fearon  wrote: 

I  came  up  with  a  woman  and  girl,  with  two  infants  in 
their  arms,  who  came,  to  use  their  own  language,  "from 
Zomerzetzhire  in  Hingland."  They  .  .  .  were  sorry  they 
had  ever  been  persuaded  to  leave  it;  they  had  been  told 
that  this  was  the  finest  place  in  the  world,  but  they  had  ex 
perienced  nothing  but  difficulties  since  they  had  set  their 
foot  upon  it.  The  husband  was  behind,  dragging  on  their 
little  all.  It  was  45  days  since  they  had  left  Philadelphia. 
I  assisted  them  over  a  brook,  and  endeavoured  to  comfort 
them  with  the  hope  that  when  they  once  got  settled  they 
would  be  well  repaid  for  all  their  toil. 

Glimpses  of  the  amount  of  travel  on  the  road  were  given : 

I  passed  on  my  road  from  Chambersburgh  to  Pittsburgh, 
being  J53  miles,  one  hundred  and  three  stage  waggons, 
drawn  by  four  and  six  horses,  proceeding  from  Philadel- 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      81 

phia  and  Baltimore  to  Pittsburg — seventy-nine  from  Pitts- 
burg  to  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia, — sixty-three  waggons, 
with  families,  from  the  several  places  following:  twenty 
from  Massachusetts,  ten  from  the  district  of  Maine,  four 
teen  from  Jersey,  twelve  from  Connecticut^,  two  from 
Maryland,  one  from  Pennsylvania,  one  from  England,  one 
from  Holland,  and  one  from  Ireland,  about  two  hundred 
persons  on  horseback,  twenty  on  foot,  one  beggar,  one  fam 
ily  with  their  waggon  returning  from  Cincinnati  entirely 
disappointed — a  circumstance  which,  though  rare,  is  by  no 
means,  as  some  might  suppose,  miraculous. 

A  few  days  later  the  writer  left  Pittsburg  for  Ohio,  "the 
State  in  which  every  emigrant  I  saw  in  the  Aleganies  told 
me  he  designed  settling,"  he  said.  Then  he  added,  "While 
there  the  inhabitants  are  on  'the  move'  for  Alabama  and 
Missouri." 

William  Cobbett  was  another  traveler  who  was  loud  in 
the  praise  of  the  skillful  drivers  over  the  Alleghenies.  In 
his  book  20  he  wrote : 

I  can  say  nothing  in  Commendation  of  the  road  over 
these  mountains:  but  I  must  admire  the  drivers  and  their 
excellent  horses.  The  road  is  every  thing  that  is  bad,  but 
the  skill  of  the  drivers  and  the  well-constructed  vehicles  and 
the  capital  old  English  horses  overcame  everything.  We 
were  rather  singularly  fortunate  in  not  breaking  down,  or 
upsetting;  I  certainly  should  not  have  been  surprised  if 
the  whole  thing,  horse  and  all,  had  gone  off  the  road  and 
been  dashed  to  pieces.  A  new  road  is  making,  however, 
and  when  that  is  completed,  the  journey  west  will  be  shorter 
in  point  of  time,  just  one  half. 

While  crossing  the  Allegheny  Mountains  Mr.  Cobbett 
"got  overturned  (a  common  accident  here)  only  once,  and 
then  received  very  little  damage :  myself  none,  some  of  my 
fellow  travellers  a  few  scratches.  We  scrambled  out,  and, 
with  the  help  of  some  waggoners,  set  the  vehicle  on  its 
wheels  again,  adjusted  our  'plunder'  .  .  .  and  drove  on 
again  without  being  detained  more  than  five  minutes." 


82  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Still  another  traveler  who  has  left  a  full  account  of  his 
experience  on  the  road  to  Pittsburg;  was  James  Flint,  a 
visitor  from  England  in  1819.  At  Philadelphia  he  arranged 
for  passage  at  the  Coach-Office  for  the  first  stage  in  his 
journey  to  Pittsburg.  There  were  so  many  travelers  that 
he  was  obliged  to  engage  his  place  days  in  advance.  He 
was  rather  critical  of  the  coach  in  which  he  rode:  he 
described  it 21  as  "a  large,  clumsy  vehicle,  carrying  twelve 
passengers,  greatly  encumbered  by  large  bags,  and  he 
noticed  that  as  a  substitute  for  glass  windows,  a  large  roll 
of  leather  was  let  down  on  each  side  in  bad  weather."  But 
he  looked  with  greater  favor  on  his  conveyance  when  he 
passed  the  "family  waggons"  bound  westward,  in  which  the 
aged  and  infants  rode,  while  the  young  and  strong  walked. 

At  Chambersburg  he  wrote : 

Several  branches  of  what  has  been  very  properly  called 
the  current  of  emigration,  being  here  united,  strangers 
from  the  Eastern  Country,  and  from  Europe,  are  passing 
in  an  unceasing  train.  An  intelligent  gentleman,  at  this 
place,  informed  me  that  this  stream  of  emigration  has 
flowed  more  copiously  this  year  than  at  any  former  period ; 
and  that  the  people  now  moving  westward  are  ten  times 
more  numerous  than  they  were  ten  years  ago.*  His  com 
putation  is  founded  on  the  comparative  amount  of  the 
stage-coach  business,  and  on  careful  observation.  .  .  .  The 
gentleman  alluded  to  says  that  shades  of  character,  sensibly 
different  from  one  another,  are  forming  in  the  western 
States.  He  represents  the  Kentuckians  to  be  a  high-toned 
people,  who  frequently  announce  their  country,  as  if  afraid 
of  being  mistaken  for  inhabitants  of  Ohio  State;  and  the 
Ohioans  as  having  less  pride  of  country,  being  less  assum 
ing  in  their  demeanour,  but  not  less  agreeable  in  conversa 
tion,  nor  less  practical  in  business  transactions. 

Two  days  later  Mr.  Flint  and  two  other  passengers  de 
cided  to  walk  because  they  were  told  that  rougher  roads 

*  This  growth  in  emigration  from  the  East  was  due,  in  large  meas 
ure,  to  the  hard  times  that  followed  the  War  of  1812. 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      83 

than  any  they  had  experienced  were  before  them.  They 
found  a  waggoner  who  agreed  to  carry  their  equipment  to 
Pittsburg.  "For  my  portmanteau,  weighing  about  four 
teen  pounds,  he  charged  three  dollars,"  is  the  rueful  state 
ment  in  the  letter  telling  of  the  day's  experiences. 
Of  a  roadside  adventure  Mr.  Flint  wrote: 

At  Macconnels  Town  we  knocked  at  the  door  of  a  tavern, 
heard  a  noise  within,  which  convinced  us  that  the  people 
were  astir,  but  not  willing  to  hear  us.  On  making  louder 
application,  the  landlord  saluted  us:  "Who's  there?"  With 
some  reluctance  he  let  us  in,  grumbling  at  the  lateness  of 
our  arrival,  it  being  ten  minutes  past  ten  o'clock.  He  af 
fected  to  be  unwilling  to  let  us  have  supper;  but  while  he 
was  refusing  a  female  commenced  cooking  for  us. 

Next  morning  he  wrote : 

From  beds  which  we  last  night  saw  on  the  floor  of  the 
bar-room,  a  numerous  group  of  Swiss  emigrants  had  risen. 
One  of  them,  an  old  man  with  a  long  beard,  has  a  truly 
patriarchal  appearance.  The  females  wore  hats,  and  are 
of  a  hardy  and  masculine  favor.  About  a  mile  from  Mac 
connels  Town  we  met  with  a  foot  traveller,  who  told  us 
that  he  had  settled  in  Illinois,  by  the  Wabash,  about  fifty 
miles  above  Vincennes.  The  ground,  he  said,  "is  as  good 
as  man  ever  set  a  foot  on."  He  was  on  his  way  to  move 
his  family  from  New  York  State,  a  journey  of  1400  miles. 

Next  day,  on  Sideling  Hill,  Mr.  Flint  observed  that  the 
wagon  path  was  worn  into  a  deep  rut  or  ravine.  "The  first 
waggoner  that  gets  into  the  track  blows  a  horn  to  warn 
others  against  meeting  him  in  the  narrow  pass,"  he  wrote. 
While  climbing  the  hill  he  came  up  with  "a  singular  party 
of  travelers — a  man  with  his  wife  and  three  children.  The 
eldest  of  the  progeny  had  the  youngest  tied  on  his  back,  and 
the  father  pushed  a  wheelbarrow  containing  the  moveables 
of  the  family.  They  were  removing  from  New  Jersey  .  .  . 
to  Pittsburg.  Abrupt  edges  of  rock,  higher  than  the  wheel, 


84  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

occasionally  interrupted  the  passage.  Their  humble  car 
riage  must  be  lifted  over  these."  A  little  farther  onward  he 
passed  a  young  woman  carrying  a  sucking  child  in  her  arms, 
and  leading  a  very  little  one  by  the  hand. 

It  was  remarked  that  it  was  impossible  to  take  particular 
notice  of  all  the  travelers  on  the  way.  "We  could  scarcely 
look  before  or  behind  without  seeing  some  of  them,"  he 
said.  "The  Canterbury  pilgrims  were  not  so  diversified  nor 
so  interesting  as  these." 

Sometimes  the  night  was  spent  in  an  inn, 

a  log,  a  frame  or  a  brick  house,  frequently  with  a  wooden 
piazza  in  front.  From  the  top  of  a  tall  post  the  sign-board 
is  suspended.  On  it,  a  Washington,  a  Montgomery,  a 
Wayne,  a  Pike  or  a  Jackson  is  usually  pourtrayed,  in  a  style 
that  might  not  be  easily  deciphered  except  for  the  name 
attached.  On  the  top  of  the  house  is  a  small  bell,  which  is 
twice  rung  before  meals.  Immediately  after  the  second 
peal  travelers  and  boarders  assemble  around  the  table, 
where  they  commence  eating  without  preface. 

The  lodgings  furnished  in  such  a  tavern  were  not  always 
comfortable.  Frequently  there  were  several  beds  in  a  room. 
The  traveler,  accustomed  to  the  comforts  of  England, 
thought  the  fact  worth  noting  that  "water  is  rarely  to  be 
met  with  in  bedrooms,  washing  is,  of  course  performed 
under  a  shed,  behind  the  barn,  or  at  the  pump,"  but  he 
added,  "the  man  who  cannot  enjoy  a  pleasant  temper  under 
privations  of  a  part  of  the  comforts  of  a  more  advanced 
state  of  society,  is  surely  to  be  pitied  for  having  business  in 
the  backwoods  of  America." 

Many  nights  were  spent  by  the  roadside,  wrapped  in 
blankets  which  were  carried  along  the  way.  At  first  he 
hesitated  to  sleep  out  of  doors,  but  when  he  noted  how 
many  of  the  emigrants  built  their  fires  and  slept  by  the 
side  of  the  road,  he  was  ready  to  follow  their  example. 
To  his  surprise  he  found  this  method  of  passing  the  night 
preferable  to  sleeping  in  an  inn  where  he  was  always  liable 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      85 

to  have  a  strange  bedfellow  taking  a  place  with  him  during 
the  night. 

He  met  two  young  men  on  their  way  eastward.  "You 
are  going  the  wrong  way,"  they  were  told.  "No,  you  are 
going  the  wrong  way,"  was  the  reply.  "I  have  been  at 
Pittsburg,  and  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  I  declare  it  is  the 
most  detestable  country  in  the  world." 

One  day  at  dark  the  travelers  "came  into  a  track  so  wet 
and  miry  that  it  would  be  considered  impassable  in  some 
parts  of  the  world."  "We  groped  our  way  along  the  side 
of  it,"  the  traveler  wrote,  "over  logs,  and  occasionally 
through  the  wood,  to  avoid  the  humid  bog.  Two  young 
men  of  the  neighborhood  came  forward,  told  us  that  we 
had  just  entered  the  worst  part  of  the  road,  and^  as  they 
were  going  in  the  same  direction,  offered  to  conduct  us. 

The  next  tavern  is  one  where  whisky  is  sold,  but  the 
occupiers  of  it  could  not  be  troubled  with  lodging  travelers. 
They  told  us  that  there  is  another  tavern  a  mile  for 
ward.  .  .  . 

The  other  tavern  was  so  completely  thronged  with 
movers  that  a  multitude  of  them  had  taken  up  their  lodg 
ings  in  a  barn.  We  were  permitted  to  stop,  on  condition  of 
all  three  sleeping  in  one  bed,  which  was  said  to  be  a  large 
and  good  one.  Two-thirds  of  the  bar-room  floor  was  cov 
ered  by  the  beds  of  weary  travellers  lying  closely  side  by 
side,  and  the  remaining  part  occupied  by  people  engaged  in 
drinking,  and  noisy  conversation.  The  room  in  which  sup 
per  was  taken  was  too  small  to  admit  any  large  proportion 
of  the  company  at  once. 

On  September  24  he  wrote : 

At  half  past  five  all  were  in  bustle,  preparing  for  the 
road.  Some  settling  their  bill  with  the  hostess,  others  wait 
ing  to  settle:  Some  round  a  long  wooden  trough  at  the 
pump,  washing  or  drying  themselves  with  their  pocket- 
handkerchiefs.  .  .  .  Some  women,  catching  children  who 
had  escaped  naked  from  bed,  others  packing  up  their  clothes 
or  putting  them  into  waggons. 


86          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

The  new  road  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  is  now  in 
an  advanced  stage  of  progress.  Much.of  it  is  finished,  and 
corresponding  parts  of  the  old  track  abandoned.  Probably, 
by  two  years  hence,  the  traveller  will  have  a  turnpike  from 
the  one  city  to  the  other.  The  improvement  is  important, 
but  it  is  not  one  that  deserves  unqualified  praise.  In  multi 
tudes  of  cases  it  passes  through  hollows,  and  over  eminences, 
without  regard  to  that  minimum  of  inequality  which  in  a 
great  measure  constitutes  the  value  of  a  road.  In  some 
cases,  the  vertical  curve,  formed  by  passing  over  rising 
ground,  is  so  long  that,  applied  laterally,  the  eminences  sur 
mounted  would  have  been  altogether  avoided.  The  road 
from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling,  now  constructing  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  government,  is  understood  to  be  more  judicious 
ly  laid  off.  Its  competition  must  ere  long  give  the  pro 
prietors  of  the  Philadelphia  line  an  instructive  lesson  on 
the  economical  application  of  labor. 

Yet  the  very  same  year  Thomas  Nuttall,  in  speaking  of 
the  completion  of  the  turnpike  from  Philadelphia  to  within 
forty  miles  of  Pittsburg,  said  this  would  enable  Pennsyl 
vania  to  compete  with  the  National  Road. 

Conditions  were  somewhat  improved  when  in  1822  or 
1823  Baynard  Rush  Hall  traveled  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburg  on  his  way  to  Indiana,  where  he  planned  to  take 
up  government  land.  The  narrative  of  his  trip  was  given 
in  a  volume  published  a  few  years  later :  22 

From  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  was  formerly  a  journey 
of  days.  Hence,  to  avoid  traveling  on  the  Sabbath,  it  was 
arranged  by  us  to  set  out  at  three  o'clock  A.M.  on  Monday. 
A  porter,  however,  of  the  stage-office  aroused  us  at  one 
o'clock ;  when,  hurrying  on  our  garments,  we  were  speedily 
following  our  baggage  trundled  by  the  man  in  that  most 
capacious  of  one-wheeled  carriage — an  antiquated  wheel 
barrow. 

Difficulties  with  the  baggage  were  not  over  when  the 
wheelbarrow  reached  the  stage  office.  Mr.  Hall  paid  for 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      87 

two  seats,  for  himself  and  Mrs.  Hall,  but  to  his  surprise  he 
was  told  that  he  must  pay  extra  for  his  wife's  baggage; 
evidently  a  double  allowance  of  baggage  was  not  made  on 
two  tickets  sold  together.  And  when  Mrs.  Hall's  trunk 
was  being  roped  to  the  rack  at  the  rear  of  the  stage,  the  rope 
broke,  the  trunk  fell,  and  the  contents  were  scattered  in  the 
street. 

The  stage  "was  most  judiciously  filled  with  three  tiers. 
The  lower  tier  was  composed  of  saddle-bags,  valises,  small 
trunks  and  carpet-bags;  the  second,  of  human  beings  sup 
ported  upright  by  an  equal  squeeze  on  all  sides ;  and  then,  on 
the  condensed  laps  of  the  living  tier,  rested  the  third  tier, 
made  up  of  extra  cloaks,  some  bandboxes  and  work-baskets, 
several  spare  hats  in  pasteboard  cases,  half  a  dozen  canes  and 
umbrellas,  and  one  fowling-piece  done  up  in  green  baize." 
Of  course  there  was  some  growling,  but  the  men  and 
women,  after  the  manner  of  crowded  passengers  in  a  public 
conveyance,  were  soon  laughing  at  their  discomfort. 

Conditions  were  still  worse  when  stages  were  changed  at 
Lancaster.  The  new  vehicle  was  smaller,  but  there  were 
even  more  passengers  than  before.  "Oh!  the  cramming — 
the  jamming — the  bumping  about  of  that  night!  How  we 
practised  the  indirect  style  of  discontent  and  cowardice,  in 
giving  it  to  the  intruders  over  the  shoulders  of  stage  own 
ers,  and  agents,  and  drivers,  and  horses!  And  how  that 
crazy,  rattling,  rickety,  old  machine  rolled  and  pitched  and 
flapped  its  curtains  and  walloped  us  for  the  abuse,  till  we 
all  were  quashed,  bruised,  and  mellowed  into  a  quaking 
lump  of  passive,  untalking,  sullen  victims!" 

From  the  hotel  in  Lancaster  the  stage  "dashed  away  .  .  . 
with  such  vengeance  and  mischief  in  the  speed  that  the 
shops  ran  backward  in  alarm  .  .  .  But  the  winged  horses, 
once  beyond  Lancaster,  turned  again  into  hoof  y  quadrupeds 
moving  nearly  three  miles  per  hour." 

Though  the  stage  was  crowded,  there  seemed  always  to 
be  room  on  the  driver's  seat  for  a  friend  or  for  an  extra 
driver.  One  of  these  extra  drivers  entertained  the  company 


88  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

by  breaking  out  into  a  song  that  was  typical  of  the  strange 
unmusical  lyrics  of  these  knights  of  the  road: 

4fe 

Come  all  ye  young  people,  I'm  going  for  to  sing, 

Consarnin'  Molly  Edwards  and  her  lovyer,  Peter  King, 

How  this  young  woman  did  break  her   lovyer's  heart, 

And  when  he  went  and  hung  hisself  how  hern  did  in  her  smart. 

This  Molly  Edwards  she  did  keep  the  turnpike  gate, 
And  travilyers  allowed  her  the  most  puttiest  in  our  state, 
But  Peter  for  a  livin'  he  did  foller  the  drovyer's  life, 
And  Molly  she  did  promise  him  she'd  go  and  be  his  wife. 

So  Peter  he  to  Molly  goes  as  he  cums  through  the  gate, 
And  says,  says  he,  oh !  Molly,  why  do  you  make  me  wait  ? 
I'm  done  a  drovin'  hossis  and  come  a  courtin'  you, 
Why  do  you  sarve  me  so,  as  I'm  your  lovyer  true? 

Then  Molly  she  toss'd  up  her  nose  and  tuk  the  drovyer's  toll, 
But  Peter  he  goes  and  hangs  hisself  that  night  unto  a  pole, 
And  Molly  says,  says  she,  I  wish  I'd  been  his  wife, 
And  Peter  he  come  and  hanted  her  the  rest  of  all  his  life. 

Some  time  after  leaving  Chambersburg  the  stage  began 
to  lumber  up  the  mountains.  The  men  walked,  while  the 
women  rode.  On  Cove  Mountain  Mr.  Hall  wanted  to  gaze 
"on  the  mingled  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  scene."  "Few," 
he  said,  "are  unmoved  by  the  view  from  that  top;  as  for 
myself  I  was  ravished.  Was  I  not  on  the  dividing  ridge 
between  two  worlds — the  worn  and  faded  East,  the  new 
and  magic  West?  And  yet  I  now  felt,  and  painfully  felt, 
that  we  were  bidding  adieu  to  home  and  entering  on  the 
untried;  still  hope  was  superior  to  fear,  and  I  was  eager 
to  pass  those  other  peaks.  ..." 

When  the  stage  overtook  the  waiting  male  passengers, 
it  proceeded  down  the  mountain  "with  a  velocity  alarming 
and  yet  exhilarating  to  persons  unused  to  the  style  of  a 
mountain  driver.  The  danger  is  with  due  care  less,  indeed, 
than  the  appearance;  yet  the  sight  of  the  places  where 
wagons  and  stages  are  said  to  have  tumbled  gigantic  somer- 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      89 

sets  over  miniature  precipices  will  force  one  involuntarily 
to  say  in  a  supplicating  tone  to  Jehu,  Take  care  driver, 
here's  where  that  stage  went  over,  and  poor  Mr.  Bounce 
was  killed  V  To  this  caution  Jehu  replied,  'Oh !  no  danger. 
Besides,  he  wan't  killed — he  only  smashed  his  ribs  'gin 
that  rock  there,  and  got  his  arm  broke,'  and  then  to  quiet 
our  fears,  he  .sends  forth  his  endless  lash  to  play  a  curve  or 
two  around  the  ears  of  the  prancing  leaders,  with  a  pistol- 
like  crack  that  kindles  the  fire  of  the  team  to  fury ;  and  away 
they  all  bound  making  the  log  crowning  the  rampart  of 
wall  tremble  and  start  from  its  place  as  the  wheels  spin 
round  within  eight  inches  of  the  dreaded  brink." 

Judge  Hall,  an  English  traveler,  would  have  been  able  to 
appreciate  the  difficulties  of  which  Baynard  Hall  wrote,  for 
his  experience  of  the  road  to  Pittsburg  was  gained  at  about 
the  same  period.  In  the  story  of  his  travels  23  he  said : 

The  turnpikes,  which  have  since  rendered  the  passes  of 
the  mountain  so  safe  and  easy  were  not  completed,  and  if 
I  found  it  toilsome  in  the  extreme  to  accomplish  my 
journey  on  horseback,  you  may  conceive  the  almost  insur 
mountable  difficulties  presented  to  weary-laden  wanderers, 
encumbered  with  waggons  and  baggage;  yet  I  found  these 
roads  crowded  with  emigrants  of  every  description,  but  the 
majority  were  of  the  poorest  class.  Here  I  would  meet  a 
few  lusty  fellows,  trudging  it  merrily  along;  and  there  a 
family,  more  embarrassed,  and  less  cheerful;  now  a  gang 
of  forty  or  fifty  souls,  men,  women,  and  children ;  and  now 
a  solitary  pedestrian,  with  his  oaken  staff,  his  bottle,  and 
his  knapsack ;  and,  once  a  day,  a  stage-load  of  tired  travel 
lers,  dragged  heavily  toward  the  west.  Sometimes  I  be 
held  a  gentleman  toiling  along  with  a  broken-down  vehicle, 
and  sometimes  encountered  the  solitary  horseman;  here  I 
espied  the  wreck  of  a  carriage,  or  the  remains  of  a  meal; 
and  there  the  temporary  shelter  which  had  protected  the 
benighted  stranger.  At  one  time,  beside  a  small  stream 
rushing  through  a  narrow  glen,  I  encountered  a  party  of 
about  fourscore  persons,  with  two  or  three  waggons.  They 
had  halted  to  bait;  the  beasts  were  grazing  among  the 


90          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

rocks,  the  men  cleaving  wood  for  fires,  and  boughs  to  erect 
a  tenement  for  the  hour;  the  women  cooking  or  nursing 
their  children,  and  the  rosy  boys  and  "girls  dabbling  in  a 
waterfall.  When,  from  the  summit  of  a  mountain,  or  one 
of  its  precipices,  where  the  road  wound  beneath  my  feet, 
appearing  at  intervals  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  I  be 
held  one  of  these  large  caravans,  composed  of  half-clad 
beings,  of  every  age  and  sex,  slowly  winding  up  the  moun 
tain  path,  or  resting  at  mid-day  among  the  rocks,  I  could 
compare  them  only  to  the  gipsy  bands  described  by  foreign 
novelists. 

At  one  of  the  most  difficult  passes  of  the  mountain  I  met 
a  cavalcade  whose  description  will  apply  to  a  numerous 
class;  they  were  from  New  England.  The  senior  of  the 
party  was  a  middle-aged  man,  hale,  well  built,  and  decently 
clad.  He  was  guiding  a  pair  of  small,  lean,  active  horses, 
harnessed  to  a  light  waggon  which  contained  the  bedding 
and  provisions  of  the  party  and  a  few  articles  of  household 
furniture;  two  well  brown,  barefoot  boys,  in  homespun 
shirts  and  trowsers,  held  the  tail  of  the  waggon,  laudably 
endeavoring  to  prevent  an  upset  by  throwing  their  weight 
occasionally  to  that  side  which  seemed  to  require  ballast, 
while  the  father  exerted  his  arms,  voice,  and  whip,  in  urg 
ing  forward  his  ponies.  In  the  rear  toiled  the  partner  of 
his  pilgrimage,  conducting,  like  John  Rodgers'  wife,  "nine 
small  children  and  one  at  the  breast,"  and  exhibiting  in  her 
own  person  and  those  of  her  offspring  ample  proof  that, 
whatever  might  be  the  character  of  the  land  to  which  they 
were  hastening,  that  which  they  had  left  was  not  deficient 
in  health  or  fruitfulness.  Nor  must  I  omit  to  mention  a 
chubby  boy  of  six  years  old,  who,  by  sundry  falls  and  im 
mersions,  had  acquired  the  hue  of  the  soil  from  head  to 
foot,  and  though  now  trudging  knee-deep  in  the  mire,  was 
craunching  an  apple  with  the  most  entire  composure. 

For  many  years  emigrants  continued  to  toil  over  the 
mountains,  In  1835  Tyrone  Power  studied  some  of  his 
fellow  travelers  to  such  purpose  that  he  told  of  them 
vividly : 24 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      91 

Whilst  walking  up  the  mountains,  I  frequently  over 
took  settlers  moving  with  all  their  worldly  goods  over  to 
the  great  Western  valley.  I  generally  exchanged  a  few 
words  with  them,  and  with  the  more  communicative  now 
and  then  had  a  considerable  long  talk.  Most  of  {hem  were 
small  farmers  and  mechanics  from  the  Northern  States, 
who  followed  here  in  the  wake  of  kindred  or  neighbours, 
their  plan  arranged  and  their  location  determined  upon. 
One  or  two  heads  of  families,  however,  told  me  they  were 
just  going  to  look  about,  and  did  not  know  rightly  where 
they  might  set  up. 

I  overtook  one  old  couple  attending  a  single-horse  wagon 
up  Laurel  Hill;  and  surely,  if  any  laurels  awaited  them 
at  the  summit,  they  were  hardly  enough  won.  The  ap 
pearance  of  this  pair  attracted  me  as  I  approached  the 
rocky  platform  where  for  a  moment  they  had  halted  to 
breathe ;  the  woman  was  a  little  creature,  dressed  in  an  old- 
fashioned  flowered  gown,  with  sleeves  tight  to  the  elbows, 
met  by  black  mittens  of  faded  silk,  and  a  very  small  close 
bonnet  of  the  same  color.  She  had  small  brass  buckles  in 
her  shoes,  a  cane,  like  those  borne  by  running  footmen,  in 
one  hand,  and  upon  the  other  arm  a  small  basket,  rolled 
up  within  which  lay  a  tabby  cat  with  which  she  held  a  con 
versation  in  what  sounded  to  me  like  broken  French  and 
English. 

The  man  was  a  son  of  Anak  in  altitude,  somewhat  bent 
by  years,  but  having  a  soldierlike  air.  His  white  hair  was 
combed  back  and  gathered  behind  into  a  thick  club;  he  wore 
a  long  greatcoat,  which,  if  made  for  him,  gave  testimony 
to  a  considerable  falling  off  in  his  proportions,  for  it  hung 
but  loosely  about  him;  had  a  very  broad-leaved  hat  set 
jauntily  on  one  side  of  his  head;  and  supported  his  steps 
upon  a  sturdy  stick. 

When  the  woman  had  entered  the  wagon  once  more,  the 
giant  told  Mr.  Power  about  her.  He  had  met  her  in  France, 
fifty  years  before,  when  he  was  about  to  go  to  America. 
A  little  boy  appealed  to  him  to  help  him  out  of  the  country ; 
he  had  no  passport.  On  the  voyage  the  boy  turned  out  to 
be  a  girl,  and  when  New  York  was  reached  the  rescuer 


92  ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

married  the  rescued.  For  forty  years  they  lived  near  Phila 
delphia.  Their  emigration  in  old  age  w#s  due  to  the  failure 
of  work  in  the  East  and  rumors  of  work  in  Pittsburg,  but 
the  wife  had  feared  the  journey  until  her  husband  was 
trodden  on  in  an  election  scuffle,  and  his  arm  broken.  "My 
poor  little  woman  took  such  a  horror  of  the  little  bit  of 
mobbing  we  had  that  she  would  make  me  pull  up  stakes, 
and  here  we  are  on  our  last  move." 

When  near  the  top  of  Laurel  Hill  on  his  return  trip  from 
Pittsburg  Mr.  Power  talked  with  other  emigrants :  25 

The  extent  of  the  p'resent  caravan  made  it  peculiarly  in 
teresting.  It  consisted  of  five  long,  well-covered  waggons, 
each  drawn  by  eight  or  six  horses  and  was  attended  by 
three  or  four  led  nags  and  a  number  of  dogs  of  various 
denominations.  The  occupants  of  the  waggons  were 
women  and  children;  the  faces  of  the  chubby  rogues  were 
all  crowded  in  front  to  look  upon  the  passing  stranger,  with 
here  and  there  a  shining  ebony  phiz  thrust  between;  the 
chief  freight  appeared  to  consist  of  household  furniture  and 
agricultural  implements. 

By  the  side  of  these  waggons  first  rode  four  or  five 
horsemen,  well  mounted,  who  might  be  the  principals  of 
the  party,  for  they  were  men  past  the  meridian  of  life; 
straggling  in  the  rear,  or  scattered  along  the  edges  of  the 
forest,  walked  eight  or  nine  younger  men,  rough-and- 
ready-looking  fellows,  each  with  his  rifle  in  his  hand.  Wild 
pigeons  abounded  along  the  cover-edge,  and  the  sharp  crack 
which  every  now  and  then  rang  through  the  air  of  morning 
told  that  the  hunters  were  dealing  upon  them. 

From  the  construction  of  the  waggons,  as  well  as  because 
their  owners  evinced  no  inclination  either  to  hold  com 
munion  or  exchange  civilities  with  a  passing  wayfarer, 
which  no  Southerner  ever  fails  to  do,  I  concluded  this  to 
be  a  party  of  New  England  men,  who,  abandoning  their 
worn-out  native  fields,  were  pushing  on  for  the  "far  West" 
with  the  lightness  of  heart  consequent  on  the  surety  of  reap 
ing  a  brave  harvest  from  a  soil  which  withholds  abundance 
from  none  who  possess  hearts  and  arms  to  ask  it. 


THROUGH  PITTSBURGH  AND  WHEELING      93 

Brave  men  and  women  were  these  who  toiled  over  the 
Alleghenies,  determined  to  endure  trials  and  hardships 
without  complaints,  for  the  sake  of  the  homes  they  sought  to 
win,  and — many  of  them  must  have  had  this  larger  thought 
— for  the  sake  of  the  future  of  their  country. 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "Early  Chapters  in  the  Development  of  the  Patowmack  Route 

to  the  West,"  p.  73. 

2.  "The  Making  of  the  Ohio  Valley  States,"  p.  229. 

3.  "A  Year's  Residence  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  Part  III, 

P-  357- 

4.  "Memorable  Days   in  America,"  p.   163. 

5.  "An  Englishman's  Pocket  Note  Book  in  1828,"  p.  333. 

6.  "Adventures  of  Zenas  Leonard,"  p.  297. 

7.  "The  Wilderness  Road"   (Filson  Club),  p.  16. 

8.  "Early   Settlement  of  the   Ohio  Valley,"   p.  4. 

9.  "John  Filson"  (Filson  Club),  p.  46. 

10.  "Journal   from   Philadelphia  to  Kentucky,   1787-8,"  p.   182. 

11.  "Journal  of  Colonel  Israel  Shreve,"  p.  742. 

12.  "Journals  and  Letters,"  pp.  25,  27,  29. 

13.  "Travels  to  the  West  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,"  p.  34. 

14.  "Topographical  Description  of  the  Territory  of  North  America," 

p.  158. 

15.  "A  Journey  to  Ohio  in  1810,"  p.  2. 

16.  "John  H.  B.  Latrobe  and  His  Times,"  p.  46. 

17.  "Notes  on  a  Journey  in  America,"  pp.  28,  32,  ff. 

18.  "Letters  from  Illinois,"  p.  18. 

19.  "A  Narrative  of  a  Journey  of  Five  Thousand  Miles,"  p.  189,  ff. 

20.  "A  Year's  Residence  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  pp.  322, 

362. 

21.  "Letters  from  America,"  p.  41. 

22.  "The  New  Purchase,"  pp.  3,  15,  17,  20. 

23.  "Letters  from  the  West,"  p.  310. 

24.  "Impressions  of  America,"  Vol.  I,  p.  300. 

25.  Ditto,  p.  331. 


CHAPTER  THREE :  FLOATING  DOWN  THE  OHIO 
AND  MISSISSIPPI 


THE  OHIO 

Lo,  our  waiting  ark  is  freighted ; 

In  its  depths  of  oak  and  pine 
All  our  household  treasures  gathered, — 

Thine,  my  humble  friend,  and  mine. 

Here  the  laughter-loving  children 

Gaze,  with  wonder-filling  eyes, 
With  the  maidens,  whose  emotions, 

Like  the  waters,  fall  and  rise. 

Here  are  youths  whose  westward  fancies 

Claim  the  forest-sheltered  game; 
Here  are  men  with  soul  and  sinew 

Which  no  wilderness  can  tame. 

Here  are  matrons  full  of  courage, — 

Worthy  these  the  pioneers, — 
And  the  patriarch  lends  a  sanction 

In  the  wisdom  of  his  years. 

Ax  and  team,  and  plow  and  sickle, 

In  the  hold  are  gathered  all ; 
And,  methinks,  I  hear  the  woodland, 

Mid  their  thundering  echoes,  fall. 

Draw  the  foot-board,  loose  the  cables, 

Free  the  wharf  and  man  the  oars ; 
Give  the  broad  keel  to  the  river, 

Bid  adieu  to  crowded  shores. 

— THOMAS  BUCHANAN  READ. 


I.     IN  PERILS  OF  WATERS 

The  river  is  up,   the  channel  is  deep, 

The  winds  blow  high  and  strong, 
The  flash  of  the  oars,  the  stroke  we  keep, 
As  we  row  the  old  boat  along, 
Down  the  O-H-I-O ! 

— Old  Boating  Song. 

FOR  two  generations  the  Ohio  river  was  the  great 
emigrant  highway  between  the  East  and  the  country  west 
of  Pittsburg  and  Wheeling.  From  Virginia,  Maryland, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New  England  the  pilgrims 
thronged  in  ever-increasing  numbers.  ' 

Until  1811  transportation  on  the  river  was  by  means  of 
keelboats,  barges,  and  flatboats.  The  keelboat  has  been 
described  as  being  "long  and  slender,  sharp  fore  and  aft, 
with  a  narrow  gangway  just  within  the  gunwale,  for  the 
boatmen  as  they  poled  up  the  stream,"  when  they  were  un 
able  to  use  their  oars.  The  flatboat  was  "an  unwieldly  box, 
and  was  broken  up,  for  the  lumber  it  contained,  on  its  ar 
rival  at  its  destination."  Of  course  it  was  useful  only  in 
going  downstream.  Many  of  the  early  emigrants  loaded 
their  goods  on  flatboats,  traveled  by  water  as  far  as  possible, 
then  sold  this  means  of  transportation,  and  completed  their 
journey  on  land. 

Long  before  the  real  beginning  of  emigration  John 
Jennings  went  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Illinois  country  by  way 
of  the  Ohio.  In  his  Journal  1  he  told  of  the  trip.  Extracts 
are  illuminating: 

March  9,  1766.  This  morning  at  Seven  O'clock  left 
Long  Island  [ten  miles  from  Pittsburg]  and  proceeded 
down  the  River,  with  the  following  Batteaus,  Viz. :  The 

97 


98          ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Ohio  Packet,  the  Beaver,  the  Dublin,  The  Good  Intent, 
And  The  Otter. 

March  10.  At  Twelve,  Mr.  Winston  hailed  the  Boats, 
to  bring  too,  in  a  threatning  manner,  two  of  the  Boats  made 
for  him,  but  Capt.  Long  ordered  them  to  proceed  down  the 
River,  &  put  on  shore  for  him,  not  chusing  to  refuse  his 
coming  on  board,  as  he  observed  some  Indian  Women,  & 
did  not  know  but  there  might  be  Men  conceal'd,  to  do  us 
an  injury.  .  .  . 

March  18.  At  eight  passed  some  Warriors'  Cabbins; 
these  are  known  by  a  Tree  having  the  Bark  strip'd  of  all 
round,  about  four  feet  from  the  Ground,  with  particular 
marks  Cut  on  it,  denoting  what  Nation  they  are,  &  their 
good  or  bad  success  in  War,  which  is  known  by  the  Indians 
who  happen  to  pass  that  way. 

Saturday  29.  [On  the  Mississippi.]  Passed  several 
Islands  &  a  great  quantity  of  Trees  in  the  River,  on  those 
Islands  are  a  great  many  Stumps  of  small  Trees,  which 
the  Beaver's  Eat  through,  &  when  the  Tree  falls,  they  either 
then  Eat  the  Bark  of  the  Top  part  of  it,  or  else  drag  it  into 
the  River,  &  carry  it  to  their  holes  to  Eat,  or  build  with. 

April  i.  A  very  Large  Beace  Tree  fell  into  the  River, 
providentially  we  had  passed  it  about  ten  yards  before  it 
fell,  or  in  all  probability  the  Boat  would  have  been  Crushed 
to  pieces,  &  every  Soul  on  board  perished. 

April  5.  At  Eight  heard  a  gun  fire,  &  saw  the  St. 
George's  Colours  hoisted.  ...  At  Ten  O'Clock  came  up 
to  them  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Kuskuskes  River.  .  .  .  Pro 
ceeded  up  the  River,  &  ...  arrived  at  the  Village.  .  .  . 
It  hath  a  Number  of  houses,  some  large,  but  meanly  built, 
with  good  Lotts  behind  them,  for  Gardens,  but  make  little 
use  of  them,  the  inhabitants  in  general  being  very  indolent 

From  Kuskuskes  the  leader  of  the  expedition  went  on  to 
Fort  Chartris  "by  Land  in  a  Calash,  a  very  ruff  immitation 
of  our  chairs.'* 

One  of  the  early  travelers  who  left  a  record  of  his 
journey  down  the  Ohio  was  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  in 
later  years  became  famous  by  reason  of  his  campaign 
against  Forts  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes,  in  Illinois  and 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI  99 

Indiana.  The  tales  of  other  venturesome  explorers  of  the 
West  proved  of  such  interest  to  him  that,  when  he  was 
twenty  years  old  he  crossed  the  mountains  and  made  his 
way  down  the  Ohio,  where  he  remained  a  few  months.  One 
of  his  companions,  David  Jones,  kept  a  journal  of  the  trip. 
Of  this  journal  the  following  are  extracts:  2 

I  left  Fort  Pitt  on  Tuesday,  June  9,  1772,  in  company 
with  George  Rogers  Clark,  a  young  gentleman  from  Vir 
ginia,  who  with  several  others  inclined  to  make  a  tour  of 
this  new  world.  We  traveled  by  water  in  a  canoe.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  Instead  of  feathers  my  bed  was  gravel  stones,  by 
the  river  side.  From  Fort  Pitt  to  this  place  [Grave  Creek] 
we  were  only  in  one  place  where  white  people  live.  Our 
lodging  was  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  at  first  seemed 
not  to  suit  me,  but  afterwards  it  became  more  natural.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  We  arrived  at  the  Kanawha.  .  .  .  We  went  up  this 
stream  about  ten  miles  and  out  on  every  side  to  view  the 
land  and  to  obtain  provisions.  My  interpreter  killed  sev 
eral  deer,  and  a  stately  buffalo  bull.  .  .  . 

On  a  later  trip  Mr.  Clark  made  a  location  of  land  near 
Wheeling,  on  which  he  built  a  cabin.  For  a  season  he 
spent  his  time  surveying,  hunting,  fishing  and  caring  for 
his  land. 

On  January  9,  1773,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  Jonathan: 

I  embrace  ye  opportunity  by  Mr.  Jarrot  to  let  you  know 
that  I  am  in  good  health,  hoping  that  this  will  find  you  in 
the  same.  ...  I  am  settled  on  my  land  with  good  plenty 
of  provisions.  .  .  .  The  country  settles  very  fast,  and  corn 
is  in  some  parts  7s.  6d.  per  bushel,  but  I  have  a  great  plenty. 
The  people  are  settling  as  low  as  ye  Sioto  river,  368  below 
Fort  Pitt.  Land  has  raised  almost  as  dear  here  as  below. 
...  I  get  a  good  deal  of  cash  by  Surveying  on  this  river. 

Settlements  on  the  Ohio  between  Pittsburg  and  Louis 
ville  were  becoming  fairly  common  when  the  author  of 
Taylor's  History  of  Ten  Baptist  Churches  passed,  in  1783, 


100        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

the  site  of  the  Clark  farm  near  Wheeling,  on  his  way  from 
Kentucky  to  Virginia.  In  giving  the  account  of  his  trip  3 
he  said : 

We  took  water  at  Redstone,  and  for  want  of  a  better 
opening,  I  paid  for  a  passage  in  a  lonely,  ill-fixed  boat  of 
strangers.  The  river  being  low,  this  lonesome  boat  was 
about  seven  weeks  before  she  landed  at  Beargrass.  Not  a 
soul  was  then  settled  on  the  Ohio  between  Wheeling  and 
Louisville,  a  space  of  five  hundred  or  six  hundred  miles 
and  not  one  hour,  day  or  night  in  safety ;  though  it  was  now 
winter,  not  a  soul  in  all  Beargrass  settlement  was  in  safety 
but  by  being  in  a  fort.  I  then  meditated  travelling  about 
eighty  miles  to  Craig's  Station,  on  Gilbert's  creek,  in  Lin 
coln  County. 

We  set  out  in  a  few  days;  nearly  all  I  owned  was  then 
at  stake.  I  had  three  horses,  two  of  them  were  packed, 
the  other  my  wife  rode,  with  as  much  lumber  besides  as 
the  beast  could  bear.  I  had  four  black  people,  one  man, 
and  three  Smaller  ones.  The  pack  horses  were  led,  one 
by  myself,  the  other  by  my  man.  The  trace,  what  there 
was,  being  so  narrow  and  bad,  we  had  no  choice  but  to  wade 
through  all  the  mud,  rivers  and  creeks  we  came  to.  Salt 
River,  with  a  number  of  its  large  branches,  we  had  to  deal 
with  often ;  these  waters  being  flush,  we  must  often  wade  to 
our  middle.  .  .  .  These  struggles  often  made  us  forget  the 
dangers  we  were  in  from  Indians.  .  .  .  After  six  days 
painful  travel  of  this  kind,  we  arrived  at  Craig's  Station 
a  little  before  Christmas,  and  about  three  months  after 
our  start  from  Virginia. 

In  1785  John  Filson  went  from  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
in  company  with  a  man  named  Jones  and  his  family.  The 
land  journey  has  already  been  pictured  in  Chapter  II.  The 
trip  down  the  Ohio  was  described  thus : 4 

On  Sunday,  May  27,  the  wagon  in  which  the  party  had 
traveled  was  abandoned  at  Pittsburgh  for  the  more  easy 
going  flatboat,  better  known  as  the  Kentucky  boat.  The 
party  took  passage  in  one  of  these  arks,  loaded  with  horses, 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI         101 

cattle,  groceries,  dry  goods,  hardware,  farming  implements, 
and  human  beings  bound  for  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  Along 
the  channel  of  ''the  beautiful  river,"  severing  the  dark  for 
ests  on  either  side,  like  the  zig-zag  lightning's  path  through 
the  black  clouds,  they  floated  on  the  gentle  current.  The 
huge  old  sycamores  and  cottonwoods  that  had  sentineled 
the  wild  banks  for  untold  years  stood  at  the  water's  edge 
and  leaned  over  the  stream  and  beheld  their  wide-spreading 
arms  and  giant  forms  mirrored  in  the  crystal  waters.  Every 
thing  along  the  shore  indicated  the  uninterrupted  abode  of 
the  wild  animals  of  the  forest,  except  here  and  there,  upon 
some  rich  bottom  raised  above  the  vernal  floods,  peeped 
from  the  rank  foliage  solitary  mounds  that  had  been  reared 
so  long  ago  by  human  beings  that  their  builders  had  passed 
away  without  a  tradition,  a  history,  or  a  name.  The 
haughty  buffalo,  and  the  timid  deer,  disdaining  the  smaller 
streams  that  paid  tribute  to  the  Ohio,  came  to  the  margio 
of  the  main  river  to  slake  their  thirst,  and  there  was  noth 
ing  in  all  the  vast  solitude  to  remind  one  of  civilized  life 
except  the  rude  vessel  that  floated  along  the  current.  On 
the  thirteenth  day  after  leaving  Pittsburgh  the  boat  was 
moored  in  the  mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek. 

Later  in  the  year  of  John  Filson's  own  voyage,  Daniel 
Trabue  started  out  with  his  family  from  Virginia  to  Ken 
tucky.  Here  is  a  part  of  the  story  of  their  pilgrimage : f 

We  did  intend  to  start  to  Kentucky  the  first  of  Septem 
ber,  but  we  did  not  get  off  so  soon.  Captain  John  Wat- 
kins,  his  family,  and  his  son-in-law  James  Locket  went  with 
us.  ...  We  had  5  or  6  white  men,  and  12  or  15  negro 
men,  and  altogether  our  company  was  above  70  souls.  We 
went  on  to  Redstone,  and  got  a  large  boat,  which  was  very 
heavily  loaded  with  all  our  horses,  and  our  carriages,  goods, 
and  our  people. 

Uncle  Bartholomew  Du  Puy,  with  3  of  his  sons,  and  a 
number  of  his  negroes,  and  several  other  families,  all  started 
down  the  River  at  the  same  time.  I  think  there  were  five 
boats,  and  in  all  200  or  300  souls.  I  thought  there  was 
great  danger  of  the  Indians  molesting  us,  but  as  we  had 


102         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

many  guns  we  agreed  to  stick  together.  We  thought  the 
water  was  sufficiently  high  for  our  boats,  and  that  we  could 
go  in  safety,  but  after  we  left  the  settlement  we  kept  run 
ning  aground,  as  our  boat  was  loaded  very  heavily.  We 
went  some  distance  below  the  Kanawha  to  an  island,  which 
is  called  the  Dead  Man's  Island. 

It  was  agreed  by  Mr.  Locket  and  myself  that  he  would 
steer  the  boat  and  I  would  take  the  front  and  Direct  him 
by  a  wave  of  the  hand  which  way  to  steer.  We  kept  exactly 
after  another  Boat  when  on  a  sudden  our  Boat  stove 
against  the  end  of  a  log  that  was  under  water;  the  Boat 
made  a  sudden  stop,  and  all  the  horses  and  people  fell 
Down.  I  observed  the  boat  was  still,  and  the  water  ran  as 
swift  as  a  Mill  Tail.  I  saw  that  a  plank  was  bursted  at  my 
end,  and  the  water  was  coming  in  very  rapidly,  as  we  were 
40  or  50  feet  from  shore,  I  hollowed  out  to  Mr.  Locket  and 
waved  my  hand  to  turn  his  end  to  the  shore. 

He  did  so,  and  it  took  several  strokes  with  the  assistance 
of  another  hand  before  they  could  turn  it.  When  it  got 
into  that  position  I  called  out  for  them  to  jump.  Some  of 
the  men,  who  were  out  first,  held  the  boat.  I  hollowed  for 
the  women  and  children  to  go  to  the  end,  and  jump  out; 
and  for  the  men,  black  and  white,  to  throw  out  the  things. 
My  end  began  to  sink  very  soon,  and  I,  and  another  man, 
cut  the  ropes  that  held  the  horses.  As  the  boat  sank  the 
horses  swam  out.  This  all  took  only  three  minutes. 

The  people  were  all  saved,  but  we  lost  considerable  of 
our  goods.  If  the  hind  end  had  turned  the  other  way,  it 
was  thought  that  most  of  the  women  and  children  would 
have  been  drowned.  We  were  thankful  that  A  Kind  Provi 
dence  had  saved  us,  although  we  saw  a  great  many  things 
swimming  off,  there  appeared  to  be  not  a  murmur  of  regret, 
but  all  were  thankful  that  it  was  no  worse. 

The  reason  the  other  Boats  escaped,  and  ours  struck  the 
log,  was  because  our  boat  was  a  great  deal  the  heaviest 
loaded,  and  sank  deeper  in  the  water.  The  other  boats 
stopped,  and  came  with  their  canoes  to  our  assistance,  as 
quickly  as  they  could.  They  caught  some  few  of  our  things 
that  were  still  near.  We  apprehended  great  danger  of  In 
dians,  so  we  moved  the  women  and  children  in  canoes  to 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        103 

the  Island,  with  all  our  things.  The  same  night  all  the 
Boats  encamped  together. 

The  next  morning  we  examined  our  boat,  and  took  out 
all  the  iron  things.  She  then  floated,  but  was  too  much  in 
jured  to  mend.  The  Owner  of  the  other  Boats  agreed  with 
us  that  all  the  horses  should  be  sent  by  land,  and  we  then 
might  have  room  in  their  boats.  We  were  21  days  on  the 
River,  three  times  as  long  as  we  had  expected.  Our  Pro 
visions  were  scarce,  and  we  often  went  ashore  with  our 
canoes,  and  killed  Turkey  which  was  plenty. 

We  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  one  of  Captain  Watkins 
negroes  who  said,  "It  will  do  very  well,  Master,  if  we  have 
plenty  of  Turkeys,  for  we  will  never  die;  but  if  we  have 
bread  and  bacon,  too,  we  will  live  a  heap  longer." 

We  got  all  safe  to  Limestone,  and  landed ;  after  waiting 
several  days,  the  men  with  the  horses  arrived,  bringing  the 
bad  news  that  the  Indians  had  fired  on  them,  and  that  sev 
eral  of  the  horses  had  been  killed.  Some  of  the  people  went 
on,  with  parts  of  their  families  and  goods,  and  sent  back 
for  the  rest. 

We  all  settled  in  Fayette,  now  Woodford  County;  I 
settled  on  Grear's  Creek,  near  Kentucky  River.  We  thought 
that  a  safe  place  as  several  people  lived  across  the  River, 
and  we  expected  that  it  would  soon  be  better  settled.  Next 
year  Brother  Edward  Trabue,  and  his  family  came  out, 
and  settled  on  the  Fork,  or  cleft  of  the  Kentucky  River. 
My  mother,  Uncle  John  Du  Puy,  Uncle  Bert  Du  Puy,  and 
Uncle  James  Du  Puy  all  settled  in  the  same  neighborhood. 

The  Indians  soon  became  more  troublesome,  and  the 
people  who  lived  across  the  River  moved  over  to  our  side. 
The  Indians  not  only  killed  the  people  on  the  other  side  of 
the  River,  but  also  several  in  our  neighborhood.  We  pur 
sued  the  Indians  many  times,  but  they  were  too  cunning  for 
us,  and  we  could  not  succeed  in  overtaking  them. 

When  Mrs.  Mary  De  Wees  floated  down  the  river  from 
Pittsburg  to  Kentucky,  in  the  winter  of  1787-1788,  she 
was  delayed  on  McKee's  Island,  near  her  starting  point, 
while  she  waited  for  high  water.  On  November  17  her 


104         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

party  was  encouraged  by  the  rising  river  to  make  a  fresh 
start. 

Of  the  experiences  of  the  trip  she  «wrote : 6 

November  20.  Just  as  the  day  broke  got  aground  on  a 
Sand  bar,  at  the  Beach  Bottom.  Just  at  that  time  a  small 
Kentucky  Boat  that  was  ashore  endeavoured  to  alarm  us 
by  fireing  of  a  gun  and  accosting  us  in  the  Indian  tongue, 
but  our  people  could  just  discern  the  boat  which  quieted 
our  fears. 

November  23.  ...  At  dark  came  to  Bilwell,  a  place 
founded  by  Mr.  Tilton,  late  of  Philadelphia.  'Tis  the  most 
delightful  situation  I  have  seen  on  the  Ohio;  there  are 
about  a  dozen  snug  little  cabins  built  on  the  bank,  in  which 
families  reside,  with  each  a  field  of  corn  and  a  garden,  with 
a  small  fort  to  defend  them  from  the  Savages.  This  settle 
ment  began  about  2  years  ago,  distant  from  Fort  Pitt  200 
miles,  on  the  Virginia  shore. 

November  24.  .  .  .  The  variety  of  deer,  ducks,  turkeys 
and  geese,  with  which  this  country  abounds,  keeps  us  al 
ways  on  the  look  out,  and  adds  much  to  the  beauty  of 
scenes  about  us.  Between  the  hours  of  six  and  eleven,  we 
have  seen  twelve  deer,  some  feeding  in  the  grass  patches 
that  are  on  the  Bottoms,  some  drjnking  at  the  river  side, 
while  others  at  the  sight  of  us  bound  through  the  woods 
with  amazing  swiftness. 

On  November  26  Mrs.  De  Wees  landed  at  Limestone, 
Kentucky.  On  November  28  she  set  out  from  Limestone 
for  Lexington.  On  November  29  she  camped  on  North 
Fork. 

The  journal  continued : 

We  made  our  bed  at  the  fire,  the  night  being  very  cold, 
and  the  howling  of  the  wolves,  together  with  its  being  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  the  road,  kept  us  from  enjoying 
much  repose  that  night. 

January  29.  I  have  this  day  reached  South  Elkhorn  and 
am  much  pleased  with  it.  'Tis  a  snug  little  Cabin  about  9 
miles  from  Lexington,  on  a  pretty  ascent,  surrounded  by 
sugar  trees,  a  beautiful  pond  a  little  distance  from  the 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        105 

house,  with  an  excellent  spring  not  far  from  the  door.  I 
have  enjoyed  more  happiness  the  few  days  I  have  been 
here  than  I  have  experienced  these  four  or  five  years  past. 
I  have  my  little  family  together,  and  am  in  full  expectations 
of  seeing  better  days. 

Up  to  this  time  the  movement  of  emigrants  down  the 
Ohio  had  been  spasmodic,  but  with  the  beginning  of 
Marietta,  the  first  well-organized  settlement  on  the  upper 
Ohio  below  Pittsburg,  emigration  became  steadier  and  the 
volume  increased. 

The  first  settlers  went  to  Marietta  in  1788,  five  years 
after  288  officers  of  the  Revolutionary  army  petitioned  Con 
gress  that  the  lands  appropriated  for  the  soldiers  in  1786 
might  be  located  in  territory  west  of  Pennsylvania,  south  of 
Lake  Erie,  and  along  the  Ohio. 

When  General  Rufus  Putnam  forwarded  the  petition  to 
Washington,  he  urged  that  it  be  granted,  in  order  that  "the 
country  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  might  be  filled 
with  inhabitants,  and  the  faithful  subjects  of  the  United 
States  so  established  on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  the 
lakes,  as  to  banish  forever  the  idea  of  our  Western  Terri 
tory  falling  under  the  dominion  of  any  European  power."  7 

Action  by  Congress  was  delayed,  but  General  Putnam 
did  not  lose  heart.  In  January,  1786,  with  Rufus  Tupper, 
he  called  a  meeting  of  officers  and  soldiers  and  others  to 
form  an  Ohio  Company.  The  meeting  was  held  in  Boston 
March  i,  1786,  and  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates  was 
duly  formed.  It  was  agreed  to  raise  a  fund  to  purchase 
from  Congress,  for  purposes  of  settlement,  the  Western 
lands  which  Congress  had  been  asked  to  give  them. 

On  July  27,  1787,  a  tract  of  1,500,000  acres  on  the  Ohio 
River,  between  the  Scioto  and  the  Muskingum  rivers  was 
sold  to  the  Company,  at  one  dollar  per  acre.  Half  of  the 
amount  was  paid  down.  '  When,  later,  it  became  impossible 
to  pay  the  remainder,  Congress  gave  a  measure  of  relief. 

The  first  emigrants  to  go  to  the  new  lands  set  out  from 
Danvers,  Massachusetts,  December  i,  1787,  under  the 


106        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

guidance  of  General  Putnam,  while  a  second  party  started 
from  Hartford,  Connecticut,  January  i,  1788.  The  first 
party  reached  the  Youghiogheny  Jamlary  23,  1788,  while 
the  second,  making  better  time,  joined  them  on  February  14. 
There  a  barge,  called  the  Mayflower,  was  built,  forty-six 
feet  long,  and  twelve  feet  wide.  A  cabin  was  provided  for 
the  women  of  the  party,  and  an  awning  was  stretched.  The 
men  propelled  the  boat  with  ten  oars. 

On  April  i,  the  voyage  to  the  Ohio  was  begun,  and  on 
April  7  the  party  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum. 
The  barge  was  moored  to  the  bank,  opposite  Fort  Harmar. 

Upon  one  of  the  old  mounds  near  the  bank  the  settlers 
built  an  enclosure  of  logs  with  a  log  fort  at  each  corner. 
Within  were  the  cabins  occupied  by  the  families.  The  fort 
and  the  enclosure  were  called  The  Campus  Martius.  On 
July  2,  1788,  the  name  Marietta  was  given  to  the  settle 
ment,  in  honor  of  Marie  Antoinette,  queen  of  France. 

Events  followed  rapidly.  On  July  4  the  first  celebration 
of  the  national  holiday  took  place  with  great  enthusiasm. 
On  July  17  the  territorial  government  was  set  up,  with 
General  St.  Clair  as  governor.  On  July  26  Washington 
County  was  formed. 

By  the  close  of  1788  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men 
had  settled  at  Marietta.  The  influx  of  settlers  encouraged 
the  Ohio  Company  to  start  other  settlements  farther  down 
the  river. 

Next  to  Marietta,  the  most  important  settlement  of  the 
year  was  Losantiville,*  which  later  became  Cincinnati.  The 

*The  derivation  of  this  strange  name  is  explained  thus:  L  stands 
for  the  Licking  River ;  os  is  mouth,  anti  is  opposite,  and  ville,  of 
course,  is  village.  Losantiville,  therefore,  means  "The  village  op 
posite  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  River." 

William  H.  Venable  has  told  in  rhyme  of  the  founding  of  the 
town.  Six  of  his  stanzas  might  well  be  quoted: 

John  Filson  was  a  pedagogue — 

A  pioneer  was  he; 
I  know  not  what  his  nation  was 

Nor  what  his  pedigree. 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        107 

pioneers  who  selected  the  location  were  led  by  Matthias 
Denman  of  New  Jersey.  The  same  year,  John  Cleve 
Symmes,  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey,  laid  out  the  town  of 
Columbia,  which  also  became  a  part  of  Cincinnati.  In  1789 
Fort  Washington  was  built  to  protect  the  settlements  near 
by.  Later  Anna  Symmes  married,  against  her  father's 
wish,  Captain  William  Henry  Harrison,  an  officer  at  the 
fort,  who  later  became  President  of  the  United  States. 

One  of  the  emigrants  of  1788  was  Colonel  John  May, 
who  stopped  for  a  season  at  Pittsburg,  on  his  way  from 
Boston  to  Marietta.  With  his  party  he  rested  on  the  shore 
opposite  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  the  Mononga- 
hela.  While  there  he  wrote :  8 

Yesterday  two  boats  for  Kentucky  hailed  us  at  our  land 
ing,  having  on  board  twenty-nine  whites,  twenty- four 
negroes,  nine  dogs,  twenty-three  horses,  cows,  hogs,  etc., 
besides  provision  and  furniture.  Several  have  passed  to 
day  equally  large. 

John  Filson  and  companions  bold 

A  frontier  village  planned, 
In  forest  wild,  on  sloping  hills, 

By  fair  Ohio's  strand. 

John  Filson  from  their  languages 

With  pedant  skill  did  frame 
The  novel  word  Losantiville 

To  be  the  new  town's  name. 

Said  Filson :     "Comrades,  hear  my  words : 

Ere  three  score  years  have  flown 
Our  town  will  be  a  city  vast." 

Loud  laughed  Bob  Pattison. 

Still  John  exclaimed,  with  prophet-tongue, 

"A  city  fair  and  proud, 
The  Queen  of  Cities  in  the  West!" 

Matt  Denman  laughed  aloud. 

Losantiville,  the  prophet's  word, 

The  poet's  hope  fulfills, — 
She  sits  a  stately  queen  to-day, 

Amid  her  royal  hills. 


108         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

While  waiting  here  word  came  of  the  capture  by  savages 
near  Marietta,  of  three  "Kentuck  boats."  But  the  news 
did  not  cool  the  ardor  of  the  pioneefS. 

On  May  14  General  Harrison,  from  Fort  Harmar,  with 
several  others,  called  on  the  May  party.  "They  crossed  the 
river  in  the  Congress  barge,  rowed  by  twelve  men,  in  white 
uniform  and  caps.  This  barge  is  fifty-two  feet  long." 

Colonel  May  wrote  further: 

On  May  19  a  Mr.  Medcalf,  of  Dedham,  came  here,  wish 
ing  to  get  a  passage  down  the  river.  He  being  out  of  pro 
visions  and  money,  I  took  him  into  my  family. 

Not  until  May  24  did  the  opportunity  come  to  start  down 
the  Ohio,  in  a  boat  forty-two  feet  long  and  twelve  feet 
wide,  which  drew  two  and  one  half  feet  and  was  of  forty- 
five  tons  burden.  The  voyage  was  prosperous. 

Soon  after  reaching  their  destination  on  the  Muskingum, 
two  long  boats  arrived  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  with 
about  one  hundred  soldiers  and  officers.  While  coming  up 
the  river  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  strong  party  of 
Indians  led  by  a  white  man.  Two  of  the  party  were 
killed. 

On  June  30  Colonel  May  wrote  : 

Poor  Dr.  M.  out  of  provisions  and  no  money.  Had  pity 
on  him  and  took  him  into  my  family,  although  it  was  quite 
large  enough  before.  I  put  powder-horn  and  shot-bag  onto 
him,  and  a  gun  in  his  hand,  with  a  bottle  of  grog  by  his 
side,  and  told  him  to  live  on  my  cornfield,  and  keep  off 
squirrels  and  crows. 

Colonel  May  and  his  family  continued  to  live  on  his 
"Kentucky  ship,"  as  he  called  it,  while  his  people  were 
hewing  timber  for  his  log  house.  He  was  still  on  board 
the  vessel  when  Governor  St.  Clair  arrived,  July  9.  "This 
is,  in  a  sense,  the  birthday  of  the  Western  World,"  Colonel 
May  wrote,  triumphantly. 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        109 

The  magnitude  of  the  movement  down  the  Ohio  at  this 
period  has  been  described  thus :  9 

An  eye-witness  stated  that  between  November  13  and 
December  22  of  1785,  thirty-nine  boats,  with  an  average 
of  ten  souls  in  each,  went  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Falls ;  and 
there  were  others  which  stopped  at  some  of  the  settlements 
farther  up  the  river.  As  time  went  on  the  number  of  im 
migrants  who  adopted  this  method  of  travel  increased; 
larger  boats  were  used,  and  the  immigrants  took  more 
property  with  them.  In  the  last  half  of  the  year  1787  there 
passed  by  Fort  Harmar  146  boats,  with  3196  souls,  1371 
horses,  165  wagons,  191  cattle,  245  sheep  and  24  hogs. 
In  the  year  ending  in  November,  1788,  967  boats,  carrying 
18,370  souls  with  7986  horses,  2372  cows,  mo  sheep,  and 
646  wagons,  went  down  the  Ohio. 


II.    BY  FLATBOAT  AND  KEEL  BOAT 

Heigh-ho !  boatmen,  row, 

A-floating  down  the   Ohio! 

The  boatmen  dance — the  boatmen  sing — 

The  boatmen  are  up  to  everything — 

Dance,   boatmen,    dance — dance,   boatmen,    dance! 

We'll  dance  all  night  till  broad  daylight, 

And  go  home  with  the  gals  in  the  morning! 

Heigh-ho,  boatmen,  row ! 

A-floating  down  the  Ohio! 

AMONG  the  rich  stories  of  adventure  written  at  this 
period  is  the  account  left  by  Ephraim  Cutler,10  son  of 
Manasseh  Cutler,  one  of  those  responsible  for  the  Ohio 
Company,  who  left  his  Connecticut  home  for  Marietta  on 
June  15,  1795.  The  trip  was  made  on  the  advice  of  the 
family  physician,  for  the  benefit  of  Mrs.  Cutler's  failing 
health.  Friends  told  her  she  could  not  survive  the  terrible 
journey,  but  she  insisted  that  she  could.  She  not  only  sur 
vived,  but  the  experience  restored  her  health. 

Most  of  Mr.  Cutler's  property  had  been  invested  in  three 
shares  of  land  in  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  journey  he  had  on  hand  only  sufficient 
money  for  his  expenses.  The  cost  of  the  trip  proved  to  be 
about  two  hundred  dollars. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cutler  started  on  "their  hazardous 
journey  and  perilous  enterprise,"  there  were  with  them  their 
four  children,  aged  eight,  six,  three  and  one.  On  the  way 
they  were  joined  by  three  other  families. 

After  driving  to  the  Monongahela  in  a  wagon  drawn  by 
two  horses  and  a  yoke  of  oxen,  Mr.  Cutler  waited  long 
enough  for  the  building  of  a  small  Kentucky  flat  boat,  suffi 
cient  to  take  the  four  families  down  to  Marietta. 

On  this  boat  the  women  and  children  embarked,  while 

110 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI         111 

Mr.  Cutler  and  Colonel  Putnam,  one  of  his  companions, 
took  the  horses  across  country  to  the  Ohio. 

The  boat's  progress  was  delayed  by  low  water;  many 
times  it  grounded  on  the  bars.  On  some  days  they  advanced 
but  three  or  four  miles.  When  the  party  was  near  Beaver 
Creek  the  one-year-old  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cutler  died  and 
was  buried  on  the  Pennsylvania  bank.  Soon  after  Wheel 
ing  was  left  behind  the  eight-year-old  daughter  died  and 
was  buried  "in  the  dreary  wilderness,  far  from  the  habita 
tion  of  any  civilized  being." 

Of  other  disasters  Mr.  Cutler  told  in  his  journal: 

As  the  boat  was  lying  near  the  shore,  Mrs.  Cutler,  in 
attempting  to  pass  to  the  land  on  an  oar  or  plank,  fell  and 
striking  her  side  against  the  edge  of  the  boat,  broke  two  of 
her  ribs  and  injured  herself  seriously.  My  own  health,  not 
withstanding  the  great  exposure  from  being  very  often  in 
the  water,  continued  good  until  about  the  time  this  accident 
occurred,  when  I  was  attacked  with  dysentery,  and  much 
weakened  before  the  boat  landed  at  Marietta,  which  was 
on  the  morning  of  September  18,  1795. 

The  river  journey  required  thirty-one  days,  and  more 
than  three  months  had  been  spent  on  the  way  from  Con 
necticut. 

After  a  season  in  Marietta,  the  Cutlers  moved  to  Water- 
ford,  going  up  the  Muskingum  in  a  canoe.  Here  they  oc 
cupied  half  of  a  log  cabin,  being  the  thirty-third  family  in 
the  settlement.  There  they  saw  few  people  until  the  dis 
covery  of  a  salt  spring  forty  miles  from  Waterford,  at 
what  is  now  Chandler sville.  The  fame  of  the  spring  be 
came  so  great  that,  after  the  opening  of  Zane's  Road,  from 
Wheeling  to  Maysville,  Kentucky,  as  authorized  by  Con 
gress  in  1796,  many  travelers  left  this  road  either  at  Zanes- 
ville  or  at  St.  Clairsville,  and  sought  the  spring,  stopping 
on  the  way  at  Waterford.  The  road  from  Waterford  to  the 
spring  was  laid  out  by  Mr.  Cutler.  This  was  the  first  of 
many  roads  for  which  he  was  responsible. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Ezekiel  Forman,  of  New  Jersey,  brother  of  General 
David  Forman,  who  commanded  the  New  Jersey  troops  at 
the  battle  of  Germantown,  set  out  ifi  1789  with  his  family 
and  sixty  or  more  negroes,  for  Natchez,  Mississippi,  where 
he  planned  to  settle  under  Spanish  authority.  Major 
Samuel  S.  Forman,  Ezekiel's  nephew,  accompanied  the 
party. 

The  horses  and  wagon  were  sold  at  Pittsburg,  and  the 
emigrants  embarked  on  a  tobacco  boat  for  Natchez. 

Major  Forman  wrote  of  the  trip :  n 

These  boats  were  flat-bottomed,  and  boarded  over  the 
top,  and  appeared  like  floating  houses.  Uncle's  boat  was  a 
seventy-foot  keel  boat,  decked  over,  with  a  cabin  for 
lodging  purposes,  but  too  low  to  stand  up  erect.  The  beds 
and  bedding  lay  on  the  floor,  and  the  inside  was  lined  with 
plank  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  penetrating  through  with 
their  balls,  should  they  attack  us.  We  had  a  large  quantity  of 
dry  goods,  and  a  few  were  paid  and  bartered  in  payment 
for  boats  and  provisions.  .  .  .  Both  boats  were  arme'd  with 
rifles,  pistols,  etc.  It  being  in  Indian  war  time,  all  boats 
descending  that  long  river,  of  about  eleven  hundred  miles, 
•were  liable  to  be  attacked  every  hour  by  a  merciless  foe, 
oftentimes  led  on  by  renegade  whites.  .  .  . 

Our  keel-boat  took  the  lead.  These  boats  are  guided  by 
oars ;  seldom  used,  except  the  steering  oar,  or  when  passing 
islands,  as  the  current  goes  about  six  or  seven  miles  an 
hour.  As  the  waters  were  now  high  the  current  was  per 
haps  eight  or  nine  miles  an  hour.  Before  day-break  next 
morning  we  had  a  narrow  escape  from  destruction,  from 
our  ignorance  of  river  navigation.  We  had  an  anchor  and 
cable  attached  to  our  keel-boat.  The  cable  was  made  fast 
to  small  posts  over  the  forecastle.  When  it  began  to  grow 
dark,  the  anchor  was  thrown  over,  in  hopes  of  holding  us 
fast  till  morning,  while  the  other  boats  were  to  tie  up  to 
trees  along  the  river  bank. 

As  soon  as  the  anchor  fastened  itself  in  the  river  bottom, 
the  boat  gave  a  little  lurch,  or  side  motion,  when  the  cable 
tore  away  all  the  frame-work  around  the  deck,  causing  a 
great  alarm.  Several  little  black  children  were  on  deck  at 


Photographed  for  this  volume  from  a  painting  in  the 
possession  of  the  Ohio  Historical  Society 


GENERAL    PUTNAM    LANDING    AT    MARIETTA 


From  "The  Navigator,"  1811 


T\V(>  SKCTIOXS  OF   THE   OHIO  RIVER 


IMB^^^MBMMHIMHBVBIM^B* 

From  Schoolcraft's  "Historical  Conditions  and  Prospecti 
of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States' 


01 1  TO    RIVER    FROM    THE    SUMMIT    OF    GRAVE    CREEK    MOUND 


From  "National  Gallery  of  America?:  Landscape' 

WABASH    RIVER,    NEAR    VINCENNES,    INDIANA 


wtographed  from  painting  in  Federal  Building, 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  by  NicoU's  Art  Store 


3IC  COLLOCH  S    LEAP,   NEAR    WHEELING,    1777 

Pursued  by  Indians,  who  had  hemmed  him  in  on  three  sides 
on  Wheeling  Hill,  McCoIloch  dashed  down  the  precipitous 
fourth  side  to  safety.  The  Indians  did  not  dare  to  follow. 


Photograph  by  the  United  States 
Forest  Service 


ON    THE   SCENT   OF  THE 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        113 

the  time,  and  as  it  had  now  become  quite  dark,  it  could  not 
be  ascertained  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  whether 
any  of  them  had  been  thrown  into  the  water.  Fortunately 
none  were  missing.  During  our  confusion,  Captain 
Osmun' s  boat  passed  ours,  a  few  minutes  after  the  acci 
dent,  and  we  soon  passed  him,  he  hailing  us,  saying  that 
he  was  entangled  in  the  top  of  a  large  tree,  which  had  caved 
into  the  river,  and  requested  the  small  row-boat  to  assist 
him.  .  .  .  Osmun  got  clear  of  the  tree  without  injury.  .  .  . 
Some  distance  above  Fort  Washington,  the  Scioto  river 
empties  into  the  Ohio.  Near  this  river  was  a  cave,  which 
the  whites  had  not  discovered  till  after  Harmar's  defeat. 
Here  the  Indians  would  sally  out  against  boats  ascending 
the  Ohio.  A  canoe  passed  on  the  day  before  we  passed  the 
Scioto,  which  had  been  fired  into  at  that  point,  one  man 
having  been  shot  through  the  shoulder,  another  through  the 
calf  of  the  leg,  while  the  third  escaped  unhurt. 

The  writer  disembarked  at  Louisville  in  January,  1790, 
because  the  river  was  full  of  ice.  He  took  a  house  in  the 
village  and  opened  the  front  part  as  a  store.  There  he  sold 
goods  brought  from  Pittsburg,  and  took  tobacco  in  pay 
ment.  Louisville  at  this  time  had  about  sixty  dwelling 
houses.  The  writer  stayed  here  to  tend  his  store ;  the  others 
went  on. 

An  adventure  which  befell  them  soon  after  leaving  Louis 
ville  was  narrated  by  Major  Forman: 

While  Uncle  Foreman  and  party  were  sojourning  in 
Louisville  there  was,  it  appears,  a  white  man  there,  who 
learned  the  names  of  Ezekiel  Forman  and  Captain  Osmun, 
their  place  of  destination,  and  all  about  them.  This  fellow 
was  a  decoyer,  who  lived  among  the  Indians,  and  whose 
business  it  was  to  lure  boats  ashore  for  purposes  of  murder 
and  robbery.  At  some  point  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Tennessee,  this  renegade  saw  the  boats  approaching,  ran  on 
the  beech  imploring,  upon  his  bended  knees,  that  Mr.  For 
man,  calling  him  by  name,  would  come  ashore  and  take  him 
on  board,  as  he  had  just  escaped  from  the  Indians.  Mr. 
Foreman  began  to  steer  for  his  relief,  when  Captain  Osmun, 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

who  was  a  little  way  in  the  rear,  hailed  Uncle,  warning  him 
to  keep  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  as  he  saw  Indians  in 
hiding  behind  trees  along  the  bank. 

In  1791  Captain  William  Hubbell  had  a  similar  experi 
ence:12 

He  procured  a  flat-boat  on  the  Monongahela;  nine  men, 
three  women,  and  eight  children  were  on  board.  As  they 
floated  down  the  Ohio  they  discovered  signs  of  Indians,  and 
kept  watch  night  and  day.  One  morning  about  daylight  a 
voice  from  the  shore  was  heard  begging  to  be  taken  on 
board;  Captain  Hubbell  refused  to  land.  The  Indians,  see 
ing  their  decoy  was  unsuccessful,  attacked  the  flat-boat; 
twenty-five  or  thirty  approached  in  canoes.  Firing  com 
menced  on  both  sides.  The  lock  of  Captain  Hubbell's  rifle 
was  shot  off  by  a  bullet  from  an  Indian  gun,  but  he  coolly 
seized  a  fire-brand  and  fired  his  piece  with  fatal  effect.  His 
right  arm  was  disabled,  but  he  continued  to  fight,  using 
pistols  and  hurling  billets  of  wood.  The  Indians  were 
driven  off;  but  of  the  men  only  two  remained  unhurt,  and 
three  were  killed.  After  the  fight  one  of  the  children — a 
little  boy — asked  to  have  a  bullet  taken  out  of  his  head. 
On  examination  it  was  found  that  a  bullet  was  indeed 
lodged  in  his  scalp.  "That  ain't  all/'  said  he,  showing  a 
wound  in  his  arm  which  had  broken  a  bone.  He  had  made 
no  outcry,  because  the  children  had  been  ordered  to  keep 
quiet.  The  horses  were  all  killed  but  one.  In  a  space  five 
feet  square,  on  the  side  of  the  cabin,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  bullet  holes  were  counted. 

The  loneliness  of  the  river  banks  was  emphasized  by 
Francis  Baily,13  an  Englishman,  who  floated  down  the  Ohio 
and  the  Mississippi  in  1796-7.  On  the  Ohio  he  noted  scat 
tered  settlements,  but,  when  he  passed  into  the  Mississippi, 
for  days  he  saw  no  one.  Finally  he  wrote: 

I  could  scarcely  imagine  that  I  was  on  the  surface  of  a 
river  which  had  flowed  3000  miles,  and  scarcely  beheld  the 
face  of  a  man,  much  less  washed  the  feet  of  his  habitation, 
and  had  barely  200  miles  further  to  go  ere  it  would  be 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        115 

forever  lost  in  the  great  body  of  the  ocean.  This  appear 
ance  of  cultivation  I  afterward  found  was  not  extended 
into  the  interior  of  the  country,  but  merely  on  the  borders 
of  the  river;  for  all  the  country  behind  these  settlements  is 
still  overgrown  with  woods  and  possessed  by  wild  beasts; 
and  there  is  seldom  an  instance  of  there  being  one  settle 
ment  formed  at  the  back  of  another,  except  in  the  im 
mediate  vicinity  of  New  Orleans. 

A  few  days  later  the  traveler  ventured  on  a  bit  of 
prophecy.  After  telling  of  a  man  who  built  a  schooner  "at 
the  head  of  the  Ohio  and  actually  navigated  it  down  that 
river  and  the  Mississippi,  and  sent  it  round  by  sea  to  Phila 
delphia,"  where  it  became  a  coastwise  commerce  carrier, 
he  said: 

If  we  may  be  allowed  to  anticipate  a  century  or  two, 
we  may  fancy  we  see  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  doubling  the 
cape  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  and  bringing  up  that  delight 
ful  river  (where  nothing  is  now  heard  but  the  croaking  of  ^ 
bull  frogs,  the  howling  of  wolves  and  wild  beasts)  the 
produce  of  every  climate  under  the  sun. 


The  experience  df  Josiah  Espy  in  the  country  bordering 
on  the  Ohio  river  were  somewhat  more  varied  than  those 
of  other  travelers.  In  1805,  he  made  a  trip  to  visit  his 
mother  and  brothers  and  sisters  who  had  emigrated,  with 
Mr.  Espy,  from  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  in  1787. ,14 

On  July  n,  1805,  he  arrived  at  Wheeling,  by  way  of 
Pittsburg.  On  July  15  he  sailed  in  the  keel  boat  Mary. 
On  July  25  he  landed  at  Columbia.  On  July  26  he  went  up 
the  Little  Miami  river  seventeen  miles,  to  the  home  of  his 
brother,  Thomas. 

After  a  few  weeks  he  started  for  Kentucky.  On  Sep 
tember  4  he  reached  Cincinnati,  which  at  that  time  con 
tained  about  two  hundred  dwelling  houses,  "many  of  them 
elegant  brick  buildings." 

On  September  7  he  crossed  into  Kentucky  and  reached 
Lexington  September  9. 


116         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Lexington  is  the  largest  and  most  wealthy  town  in  Ken 
tucky,  and  indeed,  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  he 
wrote.  I  have  been  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania  and  in 
Frederick  Town,  Maryland,  but  in  neither  of  these  places 
was  there  the  same  bustle  or  appearance  of  business.  In 
fact,  the  Main  Street  of  Lexington  has  all  the  appearance 
of  Market  Street  in  Philadelphia  on  a  busy  day. 

I  would  suppose  it  contains  about  five  hundred  dwelling- 
houses,  many  of  them  elegant  and  three  stories  high.  About 
thirty  brick  buildings  were  then  raising,  and  I  have  little 
doubt  but  that  in  a  few  years  it  will  rival  not  only  in  wealth, 
but  population,  the  most  populous  inland  town  in  the  At 
lantic  States. 

On  September  22  he  crossed  over  to  Indiana  Territory, 
near  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  He  was  interested  to  note  how 
the  surrounding  country  was  settling  rapidly  by  emigrants 
from  Kentucky  and  the  middle  states. 

At  the  close  of  his  diary  he  made  these  observations: 

The  emigration  to  the  state  of  Ohio  at  this  time  is  truly 
astonishing.  From  my  own  personal  observation,  com 
pared  with  the  opinion  of  some  gentlemen  I  have  consulted, 
I  have  good  reason  to  conclude  that  during  the  present  year 
from  twenty  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  souls  have  entered 
the  state  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  their  future  residence. 

These  are  chiefly  from  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  New 
Jersey,  Maryland,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  but  on  inquiry 
you  will  find  some  from  every  state  in  the  union. 

The  emigrants  from  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  the  South 
ern  states  are  chiefly  composed  of  those  who  are  either  op 
posed  to  slavery,  or  are  unable  to  purchase  slaves.  Conse 
quently,  this  class  of  people  are  daily  increasing  in  Ohio. 
The  expectation  of  the  few  who  wish  the  introduction  of 
slavery  there  can  never  be  realized. 

The  Indiana  territory  was  settled  first  under  the  same 
charter  as  the  state  of  Ohio,  prohibiting  the  admission  of 
slaves,  but  the  genius  of  a  majority  of  the  people  ordering 
otherwise  (the  southern  climate,  no  doubt,  having  its  in 
fluence),  the  legislature  of  that  territory,  during  the  last 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI         117 

session,  passed  a  law  permitting  a  partial  introduction  of 
slavery.  This  circumstance  will  check  the  emigration  of 
farmers  who  do  their  own  labor,  while  the  slave  owners  of 
the  Southern  states  and  Kentucky  will  be  encouraged  to  re 
move  thither;  consequently  the  state  of  society  there  will 
be  altogether  different  from  that  of  Ohio.  Its  manners  and 
laws  will  assimilate  more  and  more  to  those  of  Virginia 
and  Kentucky,  while  Ohio  will,  in  these  respects,  more 
closely  imitate  Pennsylvania  and  the  middle  states.* 

In  traveling  through  this  immense  and  beautiful  country, 
an  idea  mingled  with  melancholy  emotions  almost  con 
tinually  presented  itself  to  my  mind,  which  was  this: — 
that  before  many  years  the  people  of  that  great  tract  of 
country  would  separate  themselves  from  the  Atlantic  states 
and  establish  an  independent  empire.  The  peculiar  situation 
of  the  country  and  the  nature  of  men  will  gradually  lead  to 
this  crisis;  but  what  will  be  the  proximate  cause  producing 
this  great  effect  is  yet  in  the  womb  of  time.  Perhaps  some 
of  us  may  live  to  see  it. 

When  the  inhabitants  of  that  immense  territory  will 
themselves  independent,  force  from  the  Atlantic  states  to 
restrain  them  would  be  madness  and  folly.  It  cannot  be 
prevented. 

One  emigrant,  Joseph  Hough,  who  floated  down  the  Ohio 
a  number  of  times,  was  attracted  to  the  Ohio  territory, 
rather  than  to  the  slave  territory  farther  down  the  river. 
His  journey  by  keel  boat  required  thirty-nine  days,  though 
he  had  six  men  to  help  him.  The  reason  for  the  slow 
voyage  he  indicated  as  follows:15 

The  river  was  then  as  low  as  had  ever  been  known  on 
many  of  the  ripples  in  the  deepest  channel,  if  channel  it 
could  be  called,  when  there  was  scarcely  a  foot  of  water. 
My  boat  drew  one  foot  and  a  half,  after  taking  out  such 
articles  as  we  could  carry  over  the  ripple  in  a  large  canoe, 
which  was  the  only  kind  of  lighter  we  could  procure.  Con 
sequently  we  had  to  scrape  out  channels  at  the  low  ripples 
of  sufficient  width  and  depth  to  float  our  boat.  We  usually 

*  This  law  was  repealed  December  14,   1810. 


118         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

found  out  the  deepest  water  on  the  ripple  and  all  hands 
would  engage  in  making  the  channel.  When  we  passed 
such  a  ripple,  we  reloaded  our  goods*  and  proceeded  on  to 
the  next,  where  the  same  labors  had  to  be  performed  and 
the  same  exposure  endured.  The  extent  of  the  labor  which 
had  to  be  performed  in  order  to  pass  our  boat  can  be  under 
stood  when  I  state  that  we  were  frequently  detained  three 
days  at  one  of  the  worst  ripples. 

Of  his  first  trip  he  wrote : 

I  left  Cincinnati  in  December,  1808,  with  five  flat  boats, 
all  loaded  with  produce.  At  that  time  there  were  but  few 
settlers  on  the  Ohio  river  below  the  present  city  of  Louis 
ville.  The  cabins  were  few  and  far  between,  and  there  were 
only  two  small  villages  between  Louisville  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio.  One  was  Henderson,  known  then  by  the  name 
of  Red  Banks;  the  other  was  Shawneetown.  The  latter 
was  a  village  of  a  few  cabins  and  was  used  as  a  landing 
place  for  the  salt  works  on  the  Saline  river,  back  of  the 
village.  The  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio  to  Natchez,  were  still  more  sparsely  settled.  New 
Madrid,  a  very  small  village,  was  the  first  settlement  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  There  were  a  few  cabins  at  Little 
Prairies,  a  cabin  opposite  to  where  Memphis  now  is,  and 
on  the  lower  end  of  the  bluff  on  which  that  city  is  built 
there  was  a  stockade  fort  called  Fort  Pickering,  garrisoned 
by  a  company  of  rangers.  Cabins  were  to  be  seen  at  the 
mouth  of  White  river,  at  Point  Chico,  and  at  Walnut  Hills, 
two  miles  above  where  the  city  of  Vicksburg  now  is.  From 
this  place  to  Natchez  there  were  cabins  at  distances  from 
ten  to  twenty  miles  apart. 

The  whole  country  bordering  on  the  Mississippi,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  to  Natchez,  might  be  regarded  as 
an  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  The  Indians  seldom 
visited  the  banks,  except  at  a  few  points  where  the  river 
approached  the  high  land. 

The  bands  of  robbers  who  had  infested  the  lower  parts 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  had  not  been  entirely 
dispersed,  and  were  yet  much  dreaded  by  the  merchant 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        119 

navigators  of  those  rivers,  so  that  the  men  on  the  boats 
were  well  armed,  and  during  the  night,  when  lying  at  the 
shore  in  the  wilderness,  a  sentinel  was  kept  in  order  to  pre 
vent  surprise. 

John  J.  Audubon,  the  naturalist,  made  a  voyage  down 
the  Ohio  in  the  same  year,  1808.  He  landed  at  Henderson, 
Kentucky.  Of  the  town  and  the  home  he  made  there  he 
said:16 

When  I  first  landed  at  Henderson  in  Kentucky,  my 
family,  like  the  village,  was  quite  small.  The  latter  con 
sisted  of  six  or  eight  houses,  the  former  of  my  wife,  myself 
and  a  young  child.  Few  as  the  houses  were,  we  fortunately 
found  one  empty.  It  was  a  log  cabin,  not  a  log  house ;  but 
as  better  could  not  be  had,  we  were  pleased.  The  country 
around  was  thinly  peopled,  and  all  purchasable  provisions 
rather  scarce ;  but  our  neighbors  were  friendly,  and  we  had 
brought  with  us  flour  and  bacon-hams.  .  .  .  The  woods 
were  amply  stocked  with  game;  the  river  with  fish;  and 
now  and  then  the  hoarded  sweets  of  the  industrious  bees 
were  brought  from  some  hollow  tree  to  our  little  table. 
Our  child's  cradle  was  our  richest  piece  of  furniture,  our 
guns  and  fishing  lines  our  most  serviceable  implements.  .  .  . 

The  naturalist  waxed  poetical  on  the  occasion  of  another 
trip  down  the  river,  taken  in  October,  1811 : 17 

When  my  wife,  my  eldest  son  (then  an  infant),  and 
myself  were  returning  from  Pennsylvania  to  Kentucky,  we 
found  it  expedient,  the  waters  being  unusually  low,  to  pro 
vide  ourselves  with  a  skiff,  to  enable  us  to  proceed  to  our 
abode  at  Henderson.  I  purchased  a  large,  commodious 
and  light  boat  of  that  denomination.  We  procured  a 
mattress,  and  our  friends  furnished  us  with  ready  prepared 
viands.  We  had  two  stout  negro  rowers.  .  .  .  Here  and 
there  the  lonely  cabin  of  a  squatter  struck  the  eye,  giving 
note  of  commencing  civilization.  The  crossing  of  the 
stream  by  a  deer  foretold  how  soon  the  hills  would  be 
covered  with  snow. 

Many  sluggish  flat-boats  we  overtook  and  passed;  some 


120         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

laden  with  produce  from  the  different  head-waters  of  the 
small  rivers  that  pour  their  tributary  streams  into  the  Ohio ; 
others,  of  less  dimensions,  crowded  with  emigrants  from 
distant  parts,  in  search  of  a  new  home. 

When  I  think  of  those  times,  and  call  back  to  my  mind 
the  grandeur  of  those  almost  uninhabited  shores;  when  I 
picture  to  myself  the  dense  and  lofty  summits  of  the  for 
ests,  that  everywhere  spread  along  the  hills  and  overhung 
the  margins  of  the  stream,  unmolested  by  the  axe  of  the 
settler ;  when  I  know  how  dearly  purchased  the  safe  naviga 
tion  of  that  river  has  been,  by  the  blood  of  many  worthy 
Virginians;  when  I  see  that  no  longer  any  aborigines  are 
to  be  found  there,  and  that  the  vast  herds  of  Elks,  Deer,  and 
Buffaloes  which  once  pastured  on  these  hills  and  in  these 
valleys,  making  for  themselves  great  roads  to  the  several 
salt  springs,  have  ceased  to  exist;  when  I  reflect  that  all 
this  great  portion  of  our  Union,  instead  of  being  in  a  state 
of  nature,  is  now  more  or  less  covered  with  villages,  farms 
and  towns,  where  the  din  of  hammers  and  machinery  is 
constantly  heard ;  that  the  woods  are  fast  disappearing,  un 
der  the  axe  by  day,  and  the  fire  by  night ;  that  hundreds  of 
steamboats  are  gliding  to  and  fro,  over  the  whole  length 
of  the  majestic  river,  forcing  commerce  to*  take  root  and  to 
prosper  at  every  spot;  when  I  see  the  surplus  population  of 
Europe  coming  to  assist  in  the  destruction  of  the  forest, 
and  transplanting  civilization  into  its  darkest  recesses ;  when 
I  remember  that  these  extraordinary  changes  have  all  taken 
place  in  the  short  period  of  twenty  years,  I  pause,  wonder, 
and  although  I  know  all  to  be  fact,  can  scarcely  believe  its 
reality. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  trip,  Audubon  was  traveling 
through  the  Barrens  of  Kentucky  on  horseback,  when  he 
heard  what  he  thought  was  the  distant  rumbling  of  a  violent 
tornado.  Then  he  noticed  that  his  horse  was  placing  one 
foot  after  another  on  the  ground,  with  as  much  precaution 
as  if  walking  on  a  smooth  sheet  of  ice.  "I  thought  he  had 
suddenly  foundered,"  the  traveler  wrote,  "when  he  all  of  a 
sudden,  fell-a-groaning  bitterly,  hung  his  head,  spread  out 
his  four  legs,  as  if  to  save  himself  from  falling,  and  stood 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI 

stock  still,  continuing  to  groan.  I  thought  my  horse  was 
about  to  die,  and  would  have  sprung  from  his  back  had  a 
minute  more  elapsed,  but  at  that  instant  all  the  shrubs  and 
trees  began  to  move  from  their  very  roots,  the  ground  rose 
and  fell  in  successive  furrows,  like  the  ruffled  waters  of  a 
lake,  and  I  became  bewildered  in  my  ideas,  as  I  too  plainly 
discovered  that  all  this  awful  commotion  in  nature  was  the 
result  of  an  earthquake." 

This  was  the  first  of  many  shocks.  Later  he  learned  of 
the  awful  havoc  -wrought  at  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  and 
on  the  Mississippi. 

It  is  a  coincidence  that  within  a  few  months  of  the  time 
when  the  trip  was  taken  by  Audubon,  Alexander  Wilson, 
another  Philadelphia  ornithologist,  made  a  voyage  down  the 
river.  He  traveled  in  an  open  skiff,  which  he  called  The 
Ornithologist.  He  adopted  this  method  of  travel,  not  only 
because  it  would  afford  him  the  best  opportunity  to  make 
his  observations,  but  because  his  means  were  limited. 

The  start  was  made  from  Pittsburg  immediately  after 
the  breaking  up  of  the  winter's  ice.  His  stock  of  provisions 
consisted  of  some  biscuit  and  cheese,  and  a  bottle  of  cordial ; 
his  gun,  trunk,  and  greatcoat  were  in  one  end  of  the  boat. 
He  wrote  that  he  "had  a  small  tin  occasionally  to  bale  her, 
and  to  take  my  beverage  from  the  Ohio  with."  Later  he 
said:18 

The  current  went  about  two  and  a  half  miles  an  hour, 
and  I  added  about  three  and  a  half  miles  more  to  the  boat's 
way  with  my  oars.  In  the  course  of  the  day  I  passed  a 
number  of  arks,  or,  as  they  as  usually  called,  Kentucky 
boats,  loaded  with  what  it  must  be  acknowledged  are  the 
most  valuable  commodities  of  a  country;  viz.  men,  women 
and  children,  horses  and  ploughs,  flour,  millstones,  &c.  Sev 
eral  of  these  floating  caravans  were  loaded  with  store  goods 
for  the  supply  of  the  settlements  through  which  they  passed, 
having  a  counter  erected,  shawls,  muslins,  &c.,  displayed, 
and  every  thing  ready  for  transacting  business.  On  ap 
proaching  a  settlement  they  blow  a  horn  or  tin  trumpet, 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

which  announces  to  the  inhabitants  their  arrival.  I  boarded 
many  of  these  arks,  and  felt  much  interested  at  the  sight 
of  so  many  human  beings,  migrating  like  birds  of  passage 
to  the  luxuriant  regions  of  the  south  and  west.  The  arks 
are  built  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  being  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  from  forty  to  seventy  feet  long, 
covered  above,  rowed  only  occasionally  by  two  oars  before, 
and  steered  by  a  long  and  powerful  one  fixed  above. 


Probably  Audubon  and  Wilson  had  as  their  daily  com 
panions  on  their  trips  down  the  Ohio  the  Pittsburg  "Navi 
gator,"  the  river  emigrant's  vade  mecum.  This  was  a 
pocket  guidebook  that  gave  as  full  information  as  any  one 
could  give  about  the  river,  its  currents,  islands,  shoals  and 
rocks,  with  detail  maps  of  the  banks.  Those  who  used  the 
"Navigator"  would  feel  like  saying  amen  to  an  appeal  for 
the  removal  of  the  obstructions  to  navigation,  which  was 
expressed  thus : 19 

The  consideration  for  opening  the  navigation  of  the 
Ohio  has  become  a  matter  of  greater  importance  and  neces 
sity  for  the  interest  of  Pennsylvania  now  than  ever  before. 
The  United  States  road  from  Cumberland  on  the  Potomack 
to  Wheeling  on  the  Ohio,  when  completed,  will  naturally 
draw  a  great  deal  of  the  trade  from  the  northern  states  to 
the  states  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  to  Louisiana, 
through  that  channel,  thereby  abridging  very  much  the 
trade  of  those  states  through  Pennsylvania.  Therefore,  if 
Pennsylvania  looks  closely  to  her  own  interests,  she  will 
find  that  completing  the  turnpike  road  from  Harrisburgh 
to  Pittsburgh  and  opening  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  are 
the  two  principal  objects  which  will  tend  to  secure  to  her 
her  usual  commercial,  foreign  and  domestick  advantages. 
Exclusive  of  the  probability  of  the  United  States  road 
drawing  the  trade  to  the  south  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
state,  on  the  north,  is  pushing  her  inland  navigation  and 
opening  easy  communications  from  one  end  of  the  state  to 
the  other,  by  way  of  turnpikes,  canals,  &c.,  to  an  extent 
unparalleled  in  any  other  state  in  the  Union. 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        123 

During  the  slow  progress  down  the  river  many  an  eager 
emigrant  rejoiced  as  he  read  of  the  prophecy  of  the  bless 
ings  to  come  in  the  new  country 

where  their  posterity  may  rest  in  safety,  having  plenty  of 
all  the  necessaries,  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  where 
their  children's  children  may  enjoy  the  rich  and  prolifick 
production  of  the  land,  without  an  over  degree  of  toil  or 
labour,  where  the  climate  is  mild  and  the  soil  salubrious, 
where  each  man  is  a  prince  in  his  own  kingdom  and  may 
without  molestation  enjoy  the  frugal  fare  of  his  humble 
cot;  where  the  clashing  and  terrifick  sounds  of  war  are  not 
heard;  where  tyrants  that  desolate  the  earth  dwell  not; 
where  man,  simple  man,  if  left  to  the  guidance  of  his  own 
will,  subject  only  to  laws  of  his  own  making,  fraught  with 
mildness,  operating  equally  just  on  all,  and  by  all  pro 
tected  and  willingly  obeyed. 

A  copy  of  the  "Navigator"  which  was  used  by  one  of 
these  early  home-makers  is  a  valued  possession  of  the  His 
torical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  As  the  owner  floated  down 
the  river  he  marked  with  ink  little  notes  on  the  detail  map : 

Shot  a  deer  .  .  .  Steamboat  passed  .  .  .  Struck  on  this 
island  .  .  .  passed  n  Boats  .  .  .  Landed  in  heavy  Rain 
.  .  .  Passed  14  Boats  .  .  .  Fastened  to  small  willows  .  .  . 
Passed  23  Boats  ...  2  Boats  run  ashore  by  wind  .  .  . 
Canoe  with  Indian  passed  .  .  .  Landed  in  hard  wind  on 
company  with  a  family  Boat  .  .  .  Altered  our  Stearing  ore. 

Three  years  after  the  copy  of  the  "Navigator"  in  which 
these  notes  were  made  was  in  the  hands  of  actual  emigrants, 
the  island  where  the  deer  was  killed  was  passed  by  Elias 
Pym  Fordham,  a  homeseeker  from  England,  who  left 
Pittsburg  for  Cincinnati  in  the  fall  of  1817.  His  goods  he 
sent  on  by  flatboat  at  a  cost  of  fifty  cents  per  hundred 
weight.  "These  flat  boats,  or  Orleans  boats  as  they  are 
called,  in  the  Western  waters  are  from  12  to  25  feet  wide, 
and  from  30  to  90  feet  long,"  he  wrote:  "They  are  sold 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

when  they  arrive  at  their  place  of  destination,  and  broken 
up.  Not  over  100  nails  are  used  in  building  one,  but  they 
are  stuck  together  with  wooden  pin$.  They  will  carry  700 
barrels  of  flour.  They  cost  $i  pr.  foot  in  length  and  sell 
for  25c.  They  are  manned  by  four  men  each,  and  a 
pratoon.  In  the  Mississippi  double  that  number  is  neces 
sary  for  the  stream  runs  eight  miles  an  hour,  and  is 
full  of  Eddies.  Goods  are  brought  up  the  river  on  keels 
or  keelboats,  which  require  12  to  24  men  to  row  and  pole 
them  against  the  current." 

Progress  on  the  Ohio  was  slow,  for  the  current  was 
ordinarily  only  three  miles  an  hour.  But  many  of  the  long 
hours  were  passed  in  a  skiff,  in  which  he  rowed  to  the 
shore,  where  he  scrambled  over  the  rocks  and  searched  for 
curious  plants  or  squirrels.  Sometimes  the  skiff  would 
strike  a  log,  and  he  would  be  thrown  into  the  water,  but 
this  merely  added  to  the  interest  of  the  journey. 

When  he  reached  Cincinnati  he  set  out  across  Indiana, 
for  the  English  Prairie  region  in  Edwards  County  in 
Illinois,  to  which  William  Birkbeck  had  gone  earlier  in  the 
season.  The  journey  was  made  on  horseback,  each  person 
being  furnished  with  an  upper  and  under  blanket,  and 
saddle  bags,  and  two  pack  horses  with  extra  luggage  and 
bedding. 

At  night  the  party  stopped  in  roadside  taverns,  or  with 
farmers,  most  of  whom  had  a  room  for  travelers.  The 
country  traversed  was  "one  vast  forest,  intersected  by  a 
few  Blaze  roads,  and  two  or  three  open  roads.  There  are 
a  few  new  towns  and  some  settlements  on  and  near  the  state 
roads  and  river.  These  are  generally  from  one  to  three 
years  old." 


III.     FROM  ARK  TO  STEAMBOAT 

The  moonlight  sleeps  upon  thy  shores, 

Fair  river  of  the  West! 
And  the  soft  sound  of  dipping  oars 

Just  breaks  thy  evening  rest. 
Full  many  a  bark  its  silver  path 

Is  tracing  o'er  thy  tide; 
And  list,  the  sound  of  song  and  laugh 

Floats  onward  where  they  glide. 

—Sara  L.  P.  Smith. 

ANOTHER  English  traveler,  William  Cobbett 20  gave  an 
interesting  sketch  of  his  river  trip,  taken  in  1817: 

Leaving  Pittsburgh  on  June  6  he  "set  out  on  a  thing 
called  an  ark.  .  .  .  We  have,  besides,  a  small  skiff,  to  tow 
the  ark  and  go  ashore  occasionally.  The  ark,  which  would 
stow  away  eight  persons,  close  packed,  is  a  thing  by  no 
means  pleasant  to  travel  in,  especially  at  night.  It  is  strong 
at  bottom,  but  may  be  compared  to  an  orange-box  bowed  at 
top,  and  so  badly  made  as  to  admit  a  boy's  hand  to  steal  the 
oranges:  it  is  proof  against  the  river,  but  not  against  the 
rain. 

Just  on  going  to  push  off  the  wharf,  an  English  officer 
stepped  on  board  of  us,  with  all  the  curiosity  imaginable. 
I  at  once  took  him  for  a  spy  hired  to  way-lay  travellers.  He 
began  to  talk  about  the  Western  Countries,  anxiously  as 
suring  us  that  we  need  not  hope  to  meet  with  such  a  thing 
as  a  respectable  person,  travel  where  we  would. 

June  9th.  Two  fine  young  men  join  us,  one  a  carpenter 
and  the  other  a  saddler,  from  Washington,  in  a  skiff  they 
have  bought  at  Pittsburgh  and  in  which  they  are  taking  a 
journey  of  about  seven  hundred  miles  down  the  river.  We 
allow  them  to  tie  their  skiff  to  our  ark,  for  which  they  very 
cheerfully  assist  us.  Much  diverted  to  see  the  nimbleness 

125 


126         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

with  which  they  go  on  shore  sometimes  with  their  rifles, 
to  shoot  pigeon  and  squirrels.  The  whole  expense  of  these 
two  young  men,  floating  the  seven*  hundred  miles,  will  be 
but  seven  dollars  each,  including  skiff  and  everything  else. 

June  1 3th.  Arrived  at  Cincinnati  about  midnight  Tied 
our  ark  to  a  large  log  at  the  side  of  the  river,  and  went  to 
sleep.  Before  morning,  however,  the  fastening  broke,  and 
if  it  had  not  been  for  a  watchful  back-woods  man  whom 
we  had  taken  on  board  some  distance  up  the  river,  we  might 
have  floated  ten  or  fiteen  miles  without  knowing  it.  ... 

We  sold  our  ark,  and  its  produce  formed  a  deduction 
from  our  expenses,  which,  with  that  deduction,  amounted 
to  fourteen  dollars  each,  including  every  thing,  for  the 
journey  from  Pittsburgh  to  this  place.  .  .  . 

From  Cincinnati  the  party  floated  down  the  river  in  a 
rowboat,  ascended  the  Wabash,  and  went  to  Princeton.  At 
Princeton  horses  were  bought  and  they  rode  over  to  see 
Mr.  Birkbeck  on  English  Prairie.  "Before  we  got  to  the 
Wabash  we  had  to  cross  a  swamp  half  a  mile  wide,"  Mr. 
Cobbett  continued.  "We  were  obliged  to  lead  our  horses, 
and  walk  up  to  the  knees  in  mud  and  water.  Before  we  got 
half  across  we  began  to  think  of  going  back;  but  there  is  a 
sound  bottom  under  it  all,  and  we  waded  through  it  as  well 
as  we  could." 

Travel  along  and  through  marshes  like  those  crossed  by 
Mr.  Cobbett  and  exposure  on  the  flat  boats  caused  so  much 
sickness  among  the  emigrants  that  David  Thomas21  in 
1819  wrote  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  should  follow  him : 

The  manner  of  removing  hither  is  such  that  our  surprise 
is  rather  excited  that  so  few  are  diseased.  Many  are  cooped 
up  during  the  heat  of  summer  for  six  weeks,  exposed  to 
the  powerful  reflection  of  the  sun  from  the  water,  while 
the  roof  over  their  heads  is  heated  like  an  oven.  In  ad 
dition,  they  have  the  smell  of  bilge  water,  and  the  exhala 
tions  from  the  muddy  shores.  Their  daily  drink  is  sup 
plied  by  the  river;  its  warmth  relaxes  the  tone  of  the 
stomach. 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        127 

This  was  Mr.  Thomas'  counsel : 

Descend  the  river  after  the  commencement  of  autumn  at 
frosts  .  .  .  avoid  going  in  a  vessel  with  a  leaky  roof.  A 
crowded  boat  is  an  inconvenient  place  to  dry  wet  clothes, 
and  the  expense  of  being  comfortably  sheltered  will  fre 
quently  be  less  than  the  damage  in  furniture,  without  con 
sidering  the  probable  loss  of  health.  To  bend  thin  boards 
for  a  cover  is  customary,  but  not  sufficient.  I  have  seen 
no  roof  of  that  kind  which  would  be  a  shelter  from  a  driv 
ing  shower  of  rain.  A  sick-  woman  said  to  me  near  the 
Wabash,  "I  ascribe  my  sickness,  in  great  measure,  to  one 
dismal  night  that  I  endured  on  the  river.  The  rain  poured 
through  every  part  of  the  roof,  and  to  sit  on  the  bed  with 
my  children,  under  an  umbrella,  was  our  only  refuge." 

Birkbeck's  English  Prairie  was  the  Mecca  of  many  Eng 
lishmen  who  had  been  lured  thither  by  reading  his  letters 
from  America,  In  August,  1819,  John  Woods,22  on  his 
way  to  Illinois,  reached  the  Ohio,  after  traveling  by  the 
National  Turnpike.  At  the  end  of  the  trip  he  said  that^his 
journey  from  England  had  required  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  days,  as  follows:  Voyage  to  Baltimore,  58  days;  16 
days  in  Baltimore;  16  days  to  Wheeling;  38  days  Wheeling 
to  Shawneetown ;  7  days  here ;  4  days  more  to  the  Prairies, 
by  keel  boat  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bonpas,  and  on  foot  the 
remainder  of  the  way. 

He  spoke  highly  of  the  treatment  received  by  the  way, 
from  residents,  waggoners,  tavern  keepers.  "In  short,  we 
met  with  as  good  treatment  as  we  should  in  a  tour  through 
England ;  but  the  manners  of  the  Americans  are  more  rough 
than  those  of  Englishmen." 

Mr.  Woods,  in  surprise,  several  times  recorded  the  fact 
that  he  had  not  had  an  accident  or  sickness  of  any  kind  on 
the  route.  An  emigrant  woman  of  whom  Thomas  Nut- 
tall  23  wrote  was  not  so  fortunate.  She  had  a  terrifying 
experience  with  a  hurricane  while  on  a  flatboat  on  the  Ohio. 
"She  herself  and  one  of  her  children  had  taken  their  regular 
turn  at  the  oar,  the  master  of  the  boat,  who  had  his  family 


128        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

around  him,  became  so  far  alarmed  and  confused  as  to 
quit  his  post  in  the  midst  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
instantly  to  overwhelm  them,  tremendous  waves  broke  into 
the  boat,  which  the  affrighted  steersman  knew  not  how  to 
avoid.  This  woman  seized  the  helm,  which  was  abandoned, 
and  by  her  skill  and  courage  saved  the  boat  and  the  families 
from  imminent  destruction." 

Another  side  of  river  travel  was  recorded  by  John  A. 
Quitman,24  twenty-one  years  old,  who  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghenies  on  foot  and  arrived  at  Pittsburg  November  2,  1819. 
Of  his  passage  down  the  river  in  a  keel  boat  he  said : 

The  accommodations  were  very  rough,  but  the  ladies 
made  it  agreeable.  Miss  Griffith  played  on  the  flageolet 
and  I  on  the  flute.  I  felt  like  poor  Goldsmith  when,  wander 
ing  over  Europe,  he  fluted  for  his  supper.  Our  fowling- 
pieces  supplied  us  with  game;  biscuit  and  jerked  venison 
were  our  standbys. 

Writing  of  a  journey  taken  at  about  the  same  time,  Judge 
Hall 25  said  that  the  forty-five  ton  keel  boat  on  which  he 
was  a  passenger  was  "laden  with  merchandise  and  navigated 
by  eight  or  ten  of  those  half-bone  and  half -alligator  gentry, 
commonly  called  'Ohio  boatmen/  who  delighted  to  pull  the 
oars  to  some  such  ditty  as : 

Some  rows  up,  but  we  rows  down, 

All  the  way  to  Shawneetown. 

Pullaway — pullaway !" 

To-day  we  passed  two  large  crafts  lashed  together,  by 
which  simple  conveyance  several  families  from  New  Eng 
land  were  transporting  themselves  and  their  property  to 
the  land  of  promise  in  the  western  woods.  Each  raft  was 
eighty  or  ninety  feet  long,  with  a  small  house  erected  on 
it;  and  on  each  was  a  stack  of  hay,  round  which  several 
horses  and  cows  were  -feeding,  while  the  paraphernalia  of 
a  farm-yard,  the  ploughs,  waggons,  pigs,  children  and  poul 
try,  carelessly  distributed,  gave  to  the  whole  more  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  permanent  residence,  than  of  a  caravan  of 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        129 

adventurers  seeking  a  home.  A  respectable  looking  old 
lady,  with  spectables  on  nose,  was  seated  on  a  chair  at  the 
door  of  one  of  the  cabins,  employed  in  knitting;  another 
female  was  at  the  wash-tub;  the  men  were  chewing  their 
(tobacco,  with  as  much  complacency  as  if  they  had  been  in 
"the  land  of  steady  habits,"  and  the  various  family  associa 
tions  seemed  to  go  on  like  clockwork.  In  this  manner  the 
people  travel  at  a  slight  expense.  They  bring  their  own 
provisions;  the  raft  floats  with  the  current;  and  honest 
Jonathan,  surrounded  with  his  scolding,  grunting,  squalling, 
and  neighing  dependents,  floats  to  the  point  proposed  with 
out  leaving  his  own  fireside;  and  on  his  arrival  there,  may 
step  on  shore  with  his  house  and  commence  business.  .  .  . 

Many  emigrants  came  to  the  Ohio  from  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  by  way  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers. 
So  few  were  the  records  left  by  these,  however,  that  the 
story  of  W.  B.  De  Wees  26  is  of  special  value. 

On  March  i,  1819,  he  left  Nashville.  On  a  keel  boat  he 
reached  the  Ohio  by  way  of  the  Cumberland,  and  then  the 
Mississippi.  He  made  no  comment  on  the  country  until  he 
came  to  the  Walnut  Hills,  on  the  Mississippi  River.  Then 
he  waxed  enthusiastic: 

They  are  elevated  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  common  level  of  the  river.  Although  it  was  in  the 
winter  season,  the  grass  was  perfectly  green.  The  scenery 
was  certainly  enchanting! 

The  vessels  upon  this  river  consist  in  part  of  barges  and 
keel  boats,  but  mostly  of  upper  country  flat-boats,  generally 
called  broad-horns.  .  .  .  While  at  Natchez  I  saw  a  steam 
boat.  I  spent  some  time  on  board  examining  this  boat. 
...  I  think  this  invention  of  Robert  Fulton  will  eventually 
prove  to  be  of  great  advantage  to  this  part  of  the  country, 
and  I  hope  the  time  will  soon  come,  as  I  firmly  believe  it 
will,  when  they  will  take  the  place  of  the  vessels  which  are 
now  occupied  in  navigating  this  majestic  river.  Nor  do  I 
think  I  am  too  sanguine  when  I  say  that  in  twenty-five  years 
from  now  whoever  lives  to  see  that  time  will  find  steam 
navigation  to  be  the  most  common  mode. 


130        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

After  entering  Red  River,  we  found  our  labors  very  toil 
some  ;  on  account  of  our  boat  being^  a  large,  family  boat, 
crowded  with  women  and  children,  we  found  it  very  diffi 
cult  to  row  and  push  up  stream.  However,  we  got  along 
very  well,  though  slowly,  until  we  arrived  at  the  Big 
Raft.  .  .  . 

Our  course  through  the  raft  was  very  slow  and  toilsome. 
The  distance  is  about  ninety  miles.  We  were  thirty  days  in 
making  this  distance.  Ours  is  the  only  boat  of  any  size 
that  has  ever  passed  through  the  raft.  Had  we  not  been 
so  fortunate  as  to  secure  the  service  of  a  Caddo  Indian, 
who  had  passed  through  before,  as  a  guide,  we  should  most 
likely  have  been  lost. 

I  hardly  know  how  to  give  you  a  description  of  this  raft, 
but  perhaps  you  can  get  the  best  description  of  it  by  imagin 
ing  yourself  in  a  large  swamp,  grown  up  with  trees  and 
filled  up  with  driftwood,  wedged  in  very  closely,  the  water 
having  no  particular  current  and  running  in  no  particular 
direction.  During  the  thirty  days  we  saw  land  but  two  or 
three  times,  and  then  only  some  small  islands.  At  night  we 
tied  our  boats  to  a  tree  and  remained  till  morning.  Some 
times  we  would  come  across  lakes  two  or  three  miles  in 
extent,  and  then  again  we  would  spend  a  whole  day  in  mov 
ing  not  further  than  the  length  of  the  boat. 

But  I  must  not  forget  to  tell  you  of  the  immense  quantity 
of  bee  trees  which  we  found  in  this  raft.  At  any  time  we 
could  go  in  our  "dug  out,"  and  return  laden  with  a  large 
quantity  of  honey,  which  we  found  truly  delicious. 

After  we  were  safely  through  the  raft,  we  had  no  diffi 
culty  in  getting  to  this  place,  [Long  Prairie]  which  is  only 
about  a  three  days'  journey.  The  country  from  Natchi- 
toches  to  this  place  is  generally  uninhabited,  except  by  a  few 
Indians. 

Long  Prairie  is  the  first  large  prairie  on  Red  river,  from 
the  mouth  up,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  heavily  timbered 
country.  The  land  is  very  rich.  .  .  .  The  population  of 
this  part  of  the  country  consisted  of  two  families  previous 
to  our  arrival.  As  to  the  health  of  the  place  I  know  but 
little  .  .  .  but  from  appearances  I  should  not  judge  favor- 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        131 

ably  of  it.    Here  I  saw  for  the  first  time  a  person  shaking 
with  the  ague.    I  supposed  the  person  to  be  dying.  .  ,  « 

The  prevalence  of  ague  in  this  region  was  due  in  large 
part  to  the  curious  Red  River  Raft,  the  largest  and  most 
remarkable  formation  of  the  kind  of  which  there  is  any 
record.  The  Red  river,  more  than  seventeen  hundred  miles 
long,  was  practically  closed  to  navigation  by  a  timber  raft 
of  enormous  extent.  Early  explorers  were  unable  to  ascend 
the  stream,  and  most  later  navigators  found  it  necessary  to 
make  use  of  a  series  of  bayous  and  creeks  to  reach  the 
headwaters. 

The  raft  was  described  in  1855  27  as  "an  accumulation 
of  trees,  logs,  and  drift,  extending  over  the  surface  of  the 
river  from  bank  to  bank,  and  for  miles  in  extent,  so  close 
and  compact  as  to  be  walked  over  without  wetting  the  feet. 
Broom  straw,  willows,  and  other  small  bushes  are  growing 
out  of  the  rich,  alluvial  earth  that  covers  the  logs,  so  that 
it  presents  the  appearance  of  an  old  worn-out  field  that 
has  been  abandoned  to  grow  up  again." 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  formation  of  this  raft 
began  nearly  five  centuries  ago.  The  cause,  it  is  agreed, 
was  that  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  being  high  from  a 
freshet  when  the  Red  river  was  low,  backed  up  and  made 
still  water  at  the  mouth.  Driftwood  floating  downstream 
was  stopped  in  the  still  water;  further  accumulations  made 
a  solid  mass  from  shore  to  shore.  When  the  Mississippi 
fell  to  the  level  of  the  Red  river,  the  mass  became  jammed. 
The  banks  of  the  stream  being  heavily  wooded,  vast  quanti 
ties  of  timber  were  added,  and  the  raft  grew  at  the  rate  of 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  a  year.  As  the  years  passed,  the 
oldest  timber  rotted,  and  sections  of  the  raft  broke  away 
and  floated  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  process  of 
decay  was  not  sufficiently  rapid  to  keep  pace  with  the  ad 
ditions,  and  the  raft  increased  in  length,  while  gradually 
receding  upstream.  This  recession  was  so  slow,  that  one 
man  said,  "If  we  would  wait  two  hundred  years,  it  would 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

give  us  navigation  up  to  some  eight  hundred  miles  above 
the  mouth." 

But  it  was  impossible  to  wait  on  th*e  processes  of  nature. 
The  whole  Red  river  country  was  malarial  because  of  the 
decaying  timber.  As  the  raft  grew,  settlers  were  driven 
back,  not  only  by  the  malaria,  but  by  the  waters  which 
overflowed  the  prairie,  and  made  of  a  fertile  country  a  lake 
from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  wide.  Homes  were  deserted, 
and  the  development  of  the  region  was  retarded.  When 
Government  engineers  made  a  preliminary  survey  in  1833, 
the  raft  was  found  to  be  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
miles  long,  the  lower  end  being  about  four  hundred  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  stream.  Operations  were  begun  at 
once,  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Shreve. 

At  first  the  work  was  not  difficult.  The  lower  part  of 
the  raft  was  in  such  a  state  of  decay,  and  yielded  so  readily 
to  the  grapplings  of  the  steamer  that  about  one  hundred 
miles  of  it  was  pulled  away  the  first  season.  Good  naviga 
tion  was  then  established  up  to  Coates'  Bluff,  now  Shreve- 
port,  so  named  for  the  leader  of  the  expedition. 

The  last  thirty  miles  of  the  obstruction  presented  great 
difficulties.  The  timber  was  solid,  and  the  completion  of 
the  work  required  many  years.  Not  until  1873  was  a 
navigable  channel  opened.  At  once  the  level  of  the  water 
was  lowered  fifteen  feet.  But  it  is  still  necessary  to  keep 
snag  boats  in  action,  that  the  raft  may  not  be  renewed. 

During  the  progress  of  the  work  of  removal  Captain 
Shreve  and  his  associates  were  encouraged  by  the  prophecy 
that  some  day  the  fertile  lands  of  the  valley  "would  be  in 
habited  by  a  dense  population,  and  the  waters  freighted 
with  the  produce  of  its  unlimited  fine  range  for  cattle  and 
hogs,  and  also  with  cotton,  wheat  and  other  grains. " 

It  was  not  necessary  to  go  to  the  Red  River  Country  to 
find  malaria.  The  author  of  "An  Englishman's  Pocket 
Note-book  in  1828,"  28  who  "took  boat  at  Wheeling,"  on 
November  28,  wrote: 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        133 

The  steamboat  is  very  small  and  dirty  .  .  .  the  low  state 
of  the  water  in  the  Ohio  not  allowing  large  steamboats  to 
ply  at  this  season  of  the  year.  .  .  .  Crammed  with  pas 
sengers,  all  equally  disagreeable.  .  .  The  settlers  are  few, 
and  cultivation  along  the  banks  scarcely  seen.  They  are 
subject  here  and  on  the  river  to  the  ague  and  bilious  fever. 
The  few  inhabitants  I  saw  were  sickly,  emaciated  beings. 
No  doubt  the  climate  will  improve  when  the  land  is  cleared. 

The  Englishman  could  not  restrain  his  wonder  at  the 
number  of  steamboats  on  the  river.  On  November  10, 
when  he  reached  Cincinnati,  he  said : 

We  saw  here  20  large  and  small  steamboats,  and  on  the 
quay  an  immense  number  of  drays  and  wagons.  .  .  .  The 
town  has  risen  within  2  years  and  in  the  very  midst  of 
forests  to  be  a  place  of  considerable  importance  and  trade. 

The  Pittsburg  "Navigator,"  printed  in  1814,  from  which  a 
quotation  has  already  been  made,  spoke  enthusiastically  29 
of  the  marvel  of  the  river  that  was  to  be  such  a  large  factor 
in  the  transformation  of  the  Western  Country: 

There  is  now  on  foot  a  new  mode  of  navigating  our 
western  waters,  particularly  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi 
rivers.  This  is  with  boats  propelled  by  the  power  of  steam. 
This  plan  has  been  carried  into  successful  operation  on  the 
Hudson  river  at  New  York,  and  on  the  Delaware  between 
New  Castle  and  Burlington.  It  has  been  stated  that  the 
one  on  the  Hudson  goes  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour 
against  wind  and  tide  on  her  route  between  New  York! 
and  Albany,  and  frequently  with  300  passengers  on  board., 
From  these  successful  experiments  there  can  be  but  little 
doubt  of  the  plan  succeeding  on  our  western  waters,  and 
proving  of  immense  advantage  to  the  commerce  of  our 
country.  A  Mr.  Rosewalt,  a  gentleman  of  enterprise,  who 
is  acting  it  is  said  in  conjunction  with  Messrs.  Fulton  and 
Livingston  of  New  York,  has  a  boat  of  this  kind  now 
(1810)  on  the  stocks  at  Pittsburgh,  of  138  feet  keel,  cal 
culated  for  300  or  400  tons  burden. 


134«        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

A  footnote  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  boat  was 
in  successful  operation.  "She  passes  floating  wood  on  the 
river  as  you  pass  objects  on  land  when  on  a  swift  trotting 
horse."  The  vessel,  it  was  stated,  could  make  thirteen  trips 
a  year  to  New  Orleans,  at  an  income  of  $31,200  a  year,  and 
an  expense  of  $6,906.  As  the  cost  of  the  boat  was  $40,000, 
this  return  seemed  startling.  The  hope  was  expressed  that 
these  returns  would  encourage  others  so  that  the  people 
of  the  world  would  "see  the  advantage  of  steam  power  over 
that  of  the  oars  and  poles,  and  ere  long  have  steam  boats 
of  all  sizes  and  fashions,  running  up  and  down  our  numer 
ous  rivers,  with  as  much  ease  and  facility  as  does  the  com 
mon  canoe  under  the  direction  of  its  skilful  original  mas 
ters,  the  Indians." 

The  "Navigator's"  "Mr.  Rosewalt"  was  Nicholas  J. 
Roosevelt,  who,  in  1809,  with  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  made  an  ad 
venturous  trip  down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  as  far 
as  New  Orleans,  to  examine  critically  the  rivers  with  a  view 
to  the  possibility  of  navigation  by  the  steamboat  which  he 
hoped  to  build.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  said  of  the  trip : 30 

The  journey  in  the  flat  boat  commenced  at  Pittsburgh, 
where  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  it  built ;  a  huge  box  containing  a 
comfortable  bedroom,  dining  room,  pantry  and  a  room  in 
front  for  the  crew,  with  a  fireplace  where  the  cooking  was 
done.  The  top  of  the  boat  was  flat,  with  seats  and  an 
awning.  We  had  on  board  a  pilot,  three  hands,  and  a  man 
cook.  We  always  stopped  at  night,  lashing  the  boat  to  the 
shore.  The  row  boat  was  a  large  one,  in  which  Mr.  Roose 
velt  went  out  continually  with  two  or  three  men  to  ascertain 
the  rapidity  of  the  ripple  or  current. 

As  Mr.  Roosevelt  met  travelers  and  traders  along  the 
river  he  told  them  of  his  belief  that  the  river  could  be 
navigated  by  steamboats,  but  they  laughed  at  him.  His 
faith,  however,  was  strong,  and  when  he  returned  to  the 
East  he  sought  capitalists  in  New  York.  These  were  so 
interested  in  his  report  that  in  1811  he  found  himself  in 
Pittsburg  once  more,  ready  to  work  on  the  steamboat. 


DOWN  THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI        135 

Men  were  sent  to  the  forest  to  cut  timber  for  ribs,  knees, 
and  beams.  These  were  rafted  down  the  Monongahela  to 
the  shipyard.  Planking  was  cut  from  white-pine  logs,  in 
the  old-fashioned  saw-pits.  A  shipbuilder  and  the  me 
chanics  required  were  brought  from  New  York. 

When  the  boat,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  long,  was 
ready,  it  was  christened  the  New  Orleans. 

On  the  initial  trip  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt  were  the  only 
passengers.  The  crew  was  made  up  of  the  captain,  the 
engineer,  the  pilot,  six  deckhands,  and  four  servants. 

Eager  watchers  at  Pittsburg  saw  the  vessel  swing  into 
the  stream  and  disappear  around  the  first  headlands.  Many 
of  them  shook  their  heads,  declaring  that  the  boat  would 
never  reach  Cincinnati. 

But  it  did  reach  Cincinnati.  The  welcome  there  was 
hearty,  but  there,  too,  doubters  were  many.  When  the  lines 
were  cast  loose,  some  said,  "We  see  you  for  the  last  time. 
Your  boat  may  go  down  the  river;  but,  as  to  coming  up  it, 
the  very  idea  is  an  absurd  one.'* 

The  Cincinnati  doubters  were  convinced  when  the  boat 
returned  from  Louisville,  having  been  stopped  by  the  lack 
of  sufficient  water  to  carry  it  over  the  Falls. 

When  the  stage  of  water  was  right,  Louisville  was  safely 
passed.  Then  began  days  of  anxiety,  due  not  to  the  steam 
er's  failure  to  mind  her  helm,  but  to  the  great  earthquake 
of  1811,  which  struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  thousands, 
changed  river  channels,  and  worked  other  transformations 
in  the  physical  appearance  of  the  country  for  hundreds  of 
miles. 

At  New  Madrid,  scores  of  people  begged  to  be  taken  on 
board.  They  reported  that  the  earth  had  opened  and  that 
many  houses  and  their  inhabitants  had  been  swallowed  up. 
Other  settlers  hid  from  the  boat,  thinking  that  its  appear 
ance  was  a  part  of  the  calamity  that  had  overtaken  the 
town. 

At  last  the  steamboat  passed  out  of  the  field  of  the 
earthquake,  and  once  more  there  was  quiet.  Natchez  and 


136        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

New  Orleans  were  reached  in  good  time,  and  the  voyage  of 
the  first  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  was  ended 
— "the  voyage  which  changed  the  relations  of  the  West — 
wjiich  may  almost  be  said  to  have  changed  its  destiny." 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "Journal  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Fort  Chartres,"  p.  145. 

2.  "Conquest  of  the  Country  Northwest  of  the  River  Ohio,"  Vol.  I, 

pp.  60-63. 

3.  "The  Wilderness  Road"  (Filson  Club),  p.  54. 

4.  "John  Filson"  (Filson  Club),  p.  46. 

5.  "Colonial  Men  and  Times,"  p.  129. 

6.  "Journal  from  Philadelphia  to  Kentucky,  1787-8,"  p.  182. 

7.  "Washington  County  and  the  Early  Settlements  of  Ohio,"  p.  29. 

8.  "Journal  and  Letters  of  Colonel  John  May,"  p.  38,  ff. 

9.  "The  Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  15. 

10.  "Life  and  Times  of  Ephraim  Cutler,"  p.  19. 

11.  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,"  pp.  24,  25, 

30,  36. 

12.  "The  Wilderness  Road"   (Filson  Club),  p.  54. 

13.  "Journal  of  a  Tour  in  the  Unsettled  Parts  of  the  United  States 

of  America,"  p.  296. 

14.  "Memorandum  of  a  Tour,"  p.  i,  ff. 

15.  "Pioneer  Biography,"  p.  316. 

16.  "Audubon  and  His  Journals,"  Vol.  II,  p.  208. 

17.  Ibid.,  p.  203. 

18.  "Poems  and  Literary  Prose  of  Alexander  Wilson,"  Vol.  I,  p.  179. 

19.  "The  Pittsburgh  Navigator,"  p.  28. 

20.  "A  Year's  Residence  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  p.  323. 

21.  "Travels  through  the  Western  Country,"  p.  214. 

22.  "Two  Years'  Residence  in  the  Settlement  of  the  English  Prairie," 

p.  143- 

23.  "Journals  and  Travels   in  the  Arkansas  Territory,"   p.  23. 

24.  "Central  Ohio  Seventy  Years  Ago,"  p.  224. 

25.  "Letters  from  the  West,"  p.  94. 

26.  "Letters  from  an  Early  Settler  in  Texas,"  p.  10. 

27.  "DeBow's  Review,"  p.  437. 

28.  "An   Englishman's   Pocket  Note  Book,"   p.   334. 

29.  "The  Navigator,"  p.  30. 

30.  "The  First  Steamboat  in  Western  Waters,"  p.  7. 


CHAPTER  FOUR :  FROM  NORTHERN  NEW  YORK 
AND  NEW  ENGLAND  TO  THE  WEST 


THE  PRAIRIES 

"I  ...  think  I  hear 
The  sound  of  that  advancing  multitude 
Which  soon  shall  fill  these  deserts.    From  the  ground 
Comes  up  the  laugh  of  children,  the  soft  voice 
Of  maidens,  and  the  sweet  and  solemn  hymn 
Of  Sabbath  worshipers.    The  low  of  herds 
Blends  with  the  rustling  of  a  heavy  grain 
Over  the  dark  brown  furrows.    All  at  once 
A  fresher  wind  sweeps  by,  and  breaks  my  dream, 
And  I  am  in  the  wilderness  alone. 

— WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 


I.    THE  LONG  ROAD  TO  THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 

Home   is  home,  no  matter  where! 
Sang  a  happy,  youthful  pair, 
Journeying  westward,  years  ago,-— 
As  they  left  the  April  snow 
White  on  Massachusetts'  shore; 
Left  the  sea's  incessant  roar, 
Left  the  Adirondacks  piled 
Like  the  playthings  of  a  child, 
On  the  horizon's  eastern  bound; 
And,  the  unbroken  forests  found, 
Heard  Niagara's  sullen  call, 
Hurrying  to  his  headlong  fall, 
Like  a  Titan  in  distress, 
Tearing  through  the  wilderness, 
Bending  earth  apart,  in  hate 
Of  the  unpitying  hand  of  fate. 

— Lucy  Larcom. 

A  WRITER  too  modest  to  use  his  name  has  given  the  fol 
lowing  characterization  of  the  pioneer  who  conquered  the 
wilderness : 


The  young  American  has  inherited  a  genius  for  colo 
nization.  He  has  seen  and  learned  by  tradition  of  the 
growth  of  comfort,  wealth  and  refinement,  of  the  increased 
values  of  land,  and  the  rapid  rise  of  cities  and  acquisition  of 
capital  around  him  in  his  more  easterly  home.  He  starts  out 
full  of  courage  and  hope,  with  no  other  capital  than  these 
qualities  and  his  strong  arm,  to  acquire  the  cheap  land  and 
build  himself  a  home  in  the  West.  He  leaves  behind  friends 
and  kindred,  resolved  to  achieve  fortune  and  consequence, 
and  then  to  return  East  to  marry  and  carry  his  wife  to  the 
new  land.  He  is  enterprising  and  full  of  faith.  He  knows  that 
his  adopted  State  or  Territory  will  soon  become  populous, 

^139 


140         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

and  contain  large  cities  and  all  the  cgmforts  and  luxuries 
he  has  left  in  the  East.  He  hastens  to  seize  the  rich  soil, 
the  forest  of  timber,  the  coal  field,  the  iron,  copper  or  lead 
mine,  the  fine  water  power  or  the  promising  town-site,  which 
have  remained  since  creation  untouched  in  that  country  of 
hope.  As  he  acquires  fortune,  and  his  boys  grow  up,  they 
too  become  filled  with  the  inevitable  longing.  The  land 
around  him  has  become  valuable;  the  social  and  business 
chances  are  diminished  by  competition ;  they  know  the  story 
of  their  father's  career  and  the  most  enterprising  imitate  it, 
and  start  out  to  advance  still  farther  the  line  of  the  Western 
frontier. 

That  the  residents  of  New  England  and  Eastern  New 
York  were  slower  to  exhibit  this  longing  to  seek  new  homes 
in  the  territory  to  the  west  of  them  than  were  the  people 
of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  was  not  due  to  the  absence  of  desire  to  make  the 
venture,  but  to  hindrances  in  the  way.  For  them  the  road 
to  the  West  was  long  blocked  by  a  wilderness  in  which 
swarmed  Indians  whose  instinctive  hatred  of  the  white  man 
was  intensified  by  alliance  with  civilized  enemies  of  the 
colonists. 

Of  course  they  could  have  gone  south  and  joined  the  com 
pany  of  those  who  were  straggling  across  Pennsylvania,  or 
through  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  to  Cumberland  Gap. 
Some  of  them  did  adopt  this  course,  but  these  were  com 
paratively  few,  for  the  unoccupied  lands  to  the  south  did 
not  appeal  to  a  large  number  of  New  Englanders  with  the 
spirit  of  the  pioneer  who  braves  tremendous  perils  for  the 
sake  of  carving  a  new  home  from  the  wilderness.  Their 
thoughts  turned  to  other  lands  in  their  own  latitude.  The 
Connecticut  citizen,  for  instance,  had  been  taught  that  his 
state  had  title  to  uncounted  millions  of  acres  far  to  the  west 
ward  of  her  accepted  border.  Had  not  Charles  II,  in  1662, 
decreed  by  royal  charter  that  Connecticut  should  have  "all 
of  the  lands  west  of  it,  to  the  extent  of  its  breadth,  from 
sea  to  sea?" 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  141 

To  be  sure,  the  same  monarch  had  made  a  grant  to  Wil 
liam  Penn  which  included  a  portion  of  the  lands  already 
granted  to  Connecticut,  even  to  the  extent  of  two-fifths  of 
the  entire  Penn  grant ;  but  this  conflicting  grant  was  made 
in  1 68 1.  That  is,  for  nineteen  years  before  Penn  sailed  up 
the  Delaware,  Connecticut  had  owned  the  lands  covered  by 
the  overlapping  grant.  Some  day  she  would  take  posses 
sion  of  this  two-fifths  of  Pennsylvania. 

Another  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  lands  west  of 
Connecticut,  "to  the  extent  of  its  breadth  from  sea  to  sea/' 
was  between  Connecticut  and  the  eastern  line  of  Pennsyl 
vania.  This  section  was  one  of  the  choice  parts  of  New 
York  State,  and  there  could  be  no  thought  of  settling  here. 

Of  other  lands  beyond  the  western  borders  of  Pennsyl 
vania  they  had  heard  vague  tales  from  soldiers  and  ad 
venturers.  But  these  were  too  far  distant,  and  there  were 
too  many  obstacles  in  the  way. 

Yet  there  were  some  Connecticut  men  who  felt  they  must 
respond  to  the  call  of  the  new  land.  So  they  decided  to 
assert  their  right  to  a  beautiful  unsettled  region  in  North 
eastern  Pennsylvania.  One  company  of  emigrants,  called 
the  Delaware  Company,  was  organized  for  the  purpose. 
They  bought  the  title  of  the  Indians  to  certain  lands  bor 
dering  on  the  Delaware  and  in  1757  settled  at  Cushutunk, 
in  what  is  now  Wayne  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  Susque- 
hanna  Company,  organized  in  1753,  with  eight  hundred  and 
forty  members,  paid  £2000  to  the  Indians  for  their  right  to 
the  Wyoming  Valley,  in  what  is  now  Luzerne  County,  Penn 
sylvania. 

The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  appealed  to  the  Governor 
of  Connecticut  to  keep  the  invaders  from  his  state.  The 
protest  did  not  delay  the  settlement,  but  the  Indian  war  was 
a  hindrance  until  1762,  when  some  two  hundred  men  from 
Connecticut  settled  about  a  mile  from  the  site  on  which 
later  Wilkes-Barre  was  built. 

Then  began  the  effort  to  drive  out  the  emigrants  that 
was  to  end  in  one  of  the  greatest  tragedies  of  early  pioneer 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

life.  The  Delaware  Indians  claimed  tfyat  the  lands  on  which 
the  settlement  was  made  had  been  "sold  from  under  their 
feet/*  and  appealed  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  to  send 
back  to  Connecticut  the  men  of  the  Wyoming  Valley.  The 
Penns  also  made  a  like  appeal.  For  many  years  the  In 
dians  and  the  Penns  waged  warfare  against  the  hardy 
settlers.  More  than  once  they  were  driven  out,  each  time 
with  great  loss  of  life,  but  each  time  they  returned  to  the 
lands  they  claimed.  The  "Pennamite  wars,"  as  they  were 
called,  would  have  stood  a  better  chance  of  success  if  the 
people  of  Pennsylvania  had  loved  the  Penns  better,  but 
many  of  the  residents  of  the  state  sided  with  the  Connecticut 
men. 

Connecticut's  temper  was  shown  when,  in  January,  1774, 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  was  made  a  part  of  the  new 
Westmoreland  County,  Connecticut.  A  settler  was  sent  from 
this  section  to  the  Connecticut  Legislature  to  represent  the 
six  thousand  people  who  owned  allegiance  to  the  Nutmeg 
State. 

The  day  of  Wyoming's  tragedy  was  July  3,  1778,  when 
about  seven  hundred  Indians,  perhaps  a  hundred  Tories 
and  four  hundred  British  soldiers  fell  on  the  defenders  of 
Forty  Fort.  One  hundred  and  sixty  men  were  killed,  many 
of  them  after  cruel  torture.  The  story  of  those  who 
escaped  to  Fort  Pennsylvania,  where  Stroudsburg  now 
stands,  is  a  marvelous  record  of  endurance. 

Not  even  the  memory  of  this  awful  flight  could  hold 
back  the  men  of  Connecticut  from  reasserting  their  rights. 
A  few  months  later  another  colony  tramped  through  the 
wilderness  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  and  many  emigrants 
followed  for  several  succeeding  years. 

Finally,  in  1781,  Pennsylvania  appealed  to  Congress  to 
settled  the  controversy.  The  Commission  appointed  for  the 
purpose  decided  that  the  territory  within  Pennsylvania's 
borders  claimed  by  Connecticut  belonged  to  Pennsylvania. 
Thereupon  Pennsylvania  refused  to  give  private  titles  to 
the  lands  occupied  by  the  hardy  settlers.  Determined  not  to 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  143 

be  deprived  of  their  hard-won  homes,  the  settlers  took 
steps  to  organize  the  state  of  Susquehanna,  of  which  Wyom 
ing  was  to  be  the  capital.  Fortunately  Pennsylvania  came 
to  terms  with  them,  and  finally,  in  1807,  peace  settled  over 
the  Wyoming  Valley. 

Long  before  this  Connecticut  had  resigned  her  claim  to 
the  rather  indefinite  boundaries  fixed  by  her  royal  charter. 
Massachusetts,  New  York  and  Virginia  had  joined  her  in 
yielding  to  Congress  their  claims  to  lands  in  the  country 
north  of  the  Ohio.  Connecticut,  however,  reserved  a  tract 
along  Lake  Erie,  west  of  Pennsylvania,  containing  3,666,- 
291  acres.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  section  was 
equal  in  size  to  the  lands  surrendered  in  Pennsylvania.  In 
1792  the  western  portion  of  the  Western  Reserve  was  ap 
propriated  by  the  legislature  of  Connecticut,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  of  the  towns  in  the  state  which  had  been 
burned  by  the  British  during  the  war.  Their  portion  of 
the  Reserve  became  known  as  "the  Fire  Lands." 

At  once  the  men  of  Connecticut  whose  hearts  beat  more 
quickly  as  they  dreamed  of  conquering  the  wilderness 
turned  their  thoughts  toward  the  Lake  Erie  Country,  and 
when,  in  1795,  Conecticut  made  a  quitclaim  deed  to  the 
trustees  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  for  3,000,000 
acres  of  the  Reserve,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of 
$1,200,000,  there  were  hundreds  who  wished  to  arrange 
with  the  Company  to  cross  the  six  hundred  miles  of  wilder 
ness  that  separated  them  from  the  region  where  they 
hoped  to  make  homes  for  their  families. 

It  would  not  have  been  possible  to  encourage  these  first 
applicants  for  Western  Reserve  lands  by  promising  them 
good  roads  across  Western  New  York.  There  were  no 
good  roads;  in  fact,  there  were  practically  no  roads  of  any 
sort. 

The  opening  of  the  Genesee  Country  in  Northern  New 
York  a  few  years  after  the  Revolution  led  emigrants  to 
venture  into  the  wilderness,  along  the  old  Iroquois  trail, 
to  the  lands  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  an  immense  tract  of 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

more  than  three  million  acres,  so  named  because  Robert 
Morris,  who  had  acquired  it  from  Massachusetts,  had  sold 
it  to  a  company  backed  by  residents  of  Holland. 

Of  these  early  days  J.  H.  Kennedy  has  told  feelingly:1 

The  journey  from  the  East  was  in  itself  a  terrible  ex 
perience.  .  .  .  The  springless  wagon  or  the  sled,  loaded 
with  household  goods,  farming  implements,  weapons  of  de 
fense,  and  food,  with  wife  and  children  stowed  in  corners, 
were  the  chief  vehicle  of  transportation,  and  the  road  a 
mere  path  through  the  woods,  or  a  trail  along  which  room 
for  passage  must  be  cut  through  the  trees. 

As  late  as  1788  Elkanah  Watson  declared  that  the  road 
from  Albany  to  Schenectady  was  in  a  shameful  state.  "The 
present  road  system  is  a  disgrace  to  this  fair  state,"  was  the 
verdict. 

Records  of  the  country  2  tell  of  the  experience  of  an  un 
named  traveler  in  the  wilderness: 

On  the  1 5th  of  February  1792,  I  left  Albany,  on  my 
route  to  the  Genesee  River,  but  the  Country  was  thought  so 
remote  and  so  very  little  known  that  I  could  not  prevail  on 
the  owner  of  the  stage  to  engage  farther  than  Whitestown, 
a  new  settlement  at  the  head  of  the  Mohawk,  100  miles 
from  Albany.  The  road  as  far  as  Whitestown  had  been 
made  passable  for  wagons,  but  from  there  to  the  Genesee 
river  was  little  better  than  an  Indian  path,  sufficiently 
opened  to  allow  a  sled  to  pass,  and  some  impassable  streams 
had  been  bridged.  At  Whitestown,  I  was  obliged  to  change 
my  carriage,  the  Albany  man  getting  alarmed  for  himself 
and  horses  when  he  found  that  for  the  next  100  miles  we 
were  not  only  obliged  to  take  provisions  for  ourselves  but 
for  our  horses  and  blankets  for  our  beds.  On  leaving 
Whitestown  we  found  only  a  few  straggling  huts,  scattered 
along  the  path,  from  10  to  20  miles  from  each  other;  and 
they  offered  nothing  but  the  conveniency  of  fire,  and  a  kind 
of  shelter  from  the  snow. 

From  Geneva  to  Canandarqua  the  road  is  only  the  Indian 
path  a  little  improved;  ...  on  this  road  there  were  only 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND 

two  families  settled.  From  Canandarqua  to  the  Genesee 
river,  26  miles,  it  is  almost  totally  uninhabited,  only  four 
families  residing  on  the  road. 

One  of  the  early  settlers  who  came  to  the  Holland  Pur 
chase  a  little  later,  is  quoted  in  the  same  volume  3  as  to  her 
first  home  in  this  country  of  rough  roads : 

It  was  about  ten  feet  square,  flat  roofed,  covered  with 
split  ash  shingles;  the  floor  was  made  of  the  halves  of  split 
basswood,  no  chinking;  a  blanket  served  the  purpose  of  a 
door  for  a  while,  until  my  husband  got  time  to  make  a  door 
of  split  plank.  We  needed  no  window;  the  light  came  in 
where  the  smoke  went  out  .  .  .  For  chairs,  we  had  benches 
made  by  splitting  logs,  and  setting  the  sections  upon  logs.  A 
bedstead  was  made  by  boring  holes  in  the  side  of  the  shanty, 
inserting  pieces  of  timber,  which  rested  upon  two  upright 
posts  in  front;  a  sidepiece  completing  the  structure;  pealed 
basswood  bark,  answering  the  place  of  a  cord.  We  of 
course  had  brought  no  bed  with  us  on  horseback,  so  one  had 
to  be  procured.  We  bought  a  cotton  bag,  and  stuffing  it 
with  cat-tails,  it  was  far  better  than  no  bed. 

On  March  22,  1794,  the  Legislature  authorized  the  con 
struction  of  the  Genesee  Road,  which  was  to  become  the 
great  emigrant  thoroughfare  toward  Buffalo.  A  lottery 
was  authorized  to  raise  money  for  the  project,  and  the  pecn 
pie  along  the  route  became  so  enthusiastic  that  they  sub-, 
scribed  four  thousand  days'  work. 

The  road  was  made  sixty-four  feet  wide.  Logs  and; 
gravel  were  used  freely,  especially  in  marshy  ground. 

The  first  section  was  completed  in  1797,  from  Fort 
Schuyler  to  Geneva.  Two  years  later  the  boast  was  made 
that  "a  wagon  with  two  oxen  will  go  twenty  miles  per  day 
with  a  load  of  thirty  hundredweight." 

In  December,  1798,  Amos  Loveland  started  westward, 
with  his  family  of  seven,  and  all  his  worldly  goods,  packed 
in  two  sleds,  each  of  which  was  drawn  by  a  team  of  horses, 
He  was  able  to  make  fair  progress,  but  had  many  trying 
experiences. 


146        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

When  President  Dwight  went  through  the  Mohawk  Val 
ley  in  September,  I799,4  he  found  the  condition  of  the  road 
trying.  Many  of  the  bridges  were  out  of  repair.  "The 
road  on  the  lowlands  is  good  in  dry  weather,"  he  wrote, 
"but  in  wet,  muddy  and  extremely  disagreeable.  On  the 
hills  it  was  indifferent,  but  perhaps  as  good  as  could  be  ex 
pected  in  a  country  so  recently  settled.  .  .  .  Traveling  is 
not  merely  uncomfortable,  but  a  herculean  labor." 

In  1804  the  road  was  made  a  turnpike.  In  that  year  Dr. 
Dwight  made  a  trip  on  the  Great  Western  Turnpike,  from 
Manlius  to  Buffalo.  He  found  the  first  part  of  the  road  in 
fair  condition,  and  noted  that  settlements  were  increasing 
rapidly.  However,  when  he  was  sixteen  miles  beyond  the 
Genesee  river,  stumps  and  roots  made  traveling  danger 
ous.  "Mud  was  knee  deep,  and  so  stiff  the  horse  could 
barely  extricate  himself.  The  road  was  a  narrow  passage, 
newly  cut  through  the  forest.  After  groping  and  struggling 
for  three  hours  on  a  distance  of  four  miles,  he  reached  his 
inn,  a  log  house." 

At  Batavia  he  had  the  choice  of  two  roads  to  Buffalo 
Creek.  One  of  them  was  eighteen  miles  long,  with  thirteen 
miles  of  mud,  while  the  second  was  twenty-three  miles  long, 
with  nine  miles  of  mud.  He  chose  the  longer  road  because 
of  the  prospect  of  less  mud. 

Improvement  came  very  slowly.  Miss  Martineau,  in  her 
account  of  a  trip  through  the  country,5  taken  a  generation 
later,  spoke  of  the  corduroy  roads : 

Lastly  there  is  the  corduroy  road,  happily  of  rare  oc 
currence,  where,  if  the  driver  is  merciful  to  his  passengers, 
he  drives  so  as  to  give  them  the  association  of  being  on  the 
way  to  a  funeral,  their  involuntary  sobs  on  each  jolt  helping 
to  the  resemblance,  or,  if  he  be  in  a  hurry,  he  shakes  them 
like  pills  in  a  pill  box. 

"Such  a  wretched  apology  for  a  highway/'  said  a  traveler 
in  i833,6  "ought  to  have  immortalized  its  inventor's  name, 
instead  of  being  called  after  the  coarse  cloth  which  it  re- 


FROM  NEW  YORE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  147 

sembles  in  grain.  The  man,  at  least,  deserved  a  patent  for 
having  discovered  a  most  excruciating  method  of  dislocat 
ing  bones,  and  an  easy  method  of  breaking  the  axle-trees 
of  carriages. 

In  July,  1807,  Christian  Schultz,  Junior,7  made  a  curious 
trip  from  New  York  City  to  Niagara.  The  way  to  Albany 
was  easy,  for  he  went  by  river.  To  Schenectady,  fifteen 
miles,  he  went  on  a  good  turnpike  road,  but  he  had  to  be 
ware  of  the  wagoners,  many  of  whom,  he  said,  were  great 
rogues. 

"Should  you  chance  to  have  occasion  for  their  services/' 
he  added,  "it  will  not  only  be  well  to  be  very  careful,  but, 
likewise,  to  make  your  bargain  before  you  employ  them,  or 
like  me,  you  will  have  to  'pay  for  learning'." 

After  a  water  trip  of  one  hundred  and  four  miles  from 
Mohawk  to  Utica,  he  had  a  journey  by  various  waterways 
of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  miles  to  Oswego.  On  the 
sailing  vessel  he  had  a  pleasing  experience  that  made  him 
forget  many  of  the  vexations  of  the  way: 

The  passage  money,  if  any  is  charged,  is  about  two  dol 
lars,  finding  your  own  provisions;  but  if  you  furnish  a  good 
table,  no  passage  money  will  be  received,  and  these  open- 
hearted  fellows  always  seem  much  pleased  to  have  gentle 
men  for  passengers. 

From  Rome  to  Wood  Creek,  he  made  use  of  a  little  canal 
which  boasted  five  locks.  He  said  that  Wood  Creek  is 
"celebrated  for  the  size,  activity  and  number  of  its  mosche- 
toes." 

The  creek  was  twelve  yards  wide.  At  one  place  a  tree 
had  fallen  across  the  stream.  The  boat  was  moving  rapidly, 
and  a  bend  hid  the  tree  until  the  boat  was  almost  upon  it. 
The  captain,  seeing  that  he  must  strike  Ihe  obstruction, 
called  on  the  passengers  to  look  out  for  themselves.  Some 
articles  were  swept  overboard  as  the  tree  was  struck,  in 
cluding  the  visitor's  trunks.  One  passenger  had  no  time  to 
go  aft  for  safety.  He  was  not  to  be  found  when  the  cap- 


U8         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

tain  was  able  to  look  about  him,  but  anxiety  was  relieved 
when  he  was  discovered  perched  in  the  branches  of  the  tree, 
where  he  had  jumped  to  avoid  being  crushed. 

After  going  by  lake  from  Oswego  to  the  Niagara  river, 
Schultz  went  up  the  river  to  Niagara.  Thence  he  went  on, 
continuing  to  Fort  Erie,  making  use  of  "a  tolerable  horse 
path"  on  the  Canal  side,  and  noting  that  "the  British  side  is 
one  settled  street  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Ontario,"  and 
that  "the  American  side  remains  almost  wholly  waste  and 
unimproved." 

Continuing  his  journey  from  Lake  Erie  toward  Pitts/- 
burg  he  wrote,  "I  never  saw  a  bad  road  before."  On  this 
road  three  yoke  of  oxen  were  able  to  haul  only  six  barrels 
of  salt,  and  they  required  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
days  to  make  fourteen  miles. 

On  this  road  mud  was  frequently  up  to  the  knees,  as 
he  sat  in  the  saddle.  At  the  end  of  the  day  both  horse  and 
rider  were  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  mud  at  least 
half  an  inch  thick.  He  decided  to  plunge  two  or  three 
dozen  times  in  the  river,  with  all  his  clothes  on.  Then  it 
was  necessary  to  borrow  clothes,  for  the  trunk  did  not 
overtake  him  until  next  day.  He  found  everything  in  it 
covered  with  mud,  for  the  wagon  to  which  he  had  entrusted 
it  had  overturned  in  a  mud-hole.  The  trunk,  being  on  top 
of  the  load,  sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  mud-hole,  with  all 
the  other  freight  heaped  on  it. 

The  terrors  of  those  primitive  roads  did  not  deter  the 
pioneers  who  were  determined  to  settle  the  lands  of  the 
Western  Reserve,  which  beckoned  from  just  beyond  the 
western  boundary  of  New  York.  In  1796  Moses  Cleave- 
land,  one  the  directors  of  the  Connecticut  Company,  and  its 
General  Agent,  gathered  at  Schenectady  a  company  of  from 
forty-five  to  fifty,  including  thirty-seven  employees,  some 
of  them  surveyors,  and  a  few  emigrants.  Two  of  the  men 
in  the  company  were  married.  Thirteen  horses  were  taken 
along.8  From  Schenectady  the  party  went  up  the  Mohawk 
in  bateaux.  At  what  is  now  Rome  they  took  their  boats 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND     149 

and  stores  across  into  Wood  Creek,  then  went  on  to  Oneida 
Lake,  and  from  there  to  Oswego.  There  they  took  passage 
for  Niagara.  Buffalo  was  reached  on  June  17.  Here,  on 
June  23,  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  Red  Jacket  and  the 
principal  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  by  which  the  Connecti 
cut  Company  was  given  the  right  to  settle  on  the  Indian 
lands  in  the  Western  Reserve.  The  consideration  was  £500, 
to  be  paid  in  goods  to  the  Western  Indians,  and  two  beef 
cattle  and  one  hundred  gallons  of  whiskey  to  be  given  to 
the  Eastern  Indians. 

On  June  27  the  party  left  Buffalo  and  embarked  in  open 
boats  on  Lake  Erie.  Most  of  them  were  in  the  boats,  but 
some  walked  on  the  bank. 

In  his  journal  General  Cleaveland  told  of  the  landing: 

On  the  creek  "Conneaugh,"  in  New  Connecticut  Land, 
July  4,  1796  .  .  .  We  gave  three  cheers  and  Christened  the 
place  Fort  Independence,  and,  after  many  difficulties,  per 
plexities  and  hardships  were  surmounted  and  we  were  on 
the  good  and  promised  land,  felt  that  a  just  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  day  ought  to  be  paid.  There  were  in  all,  in 
cluding  women  and  children,  fifty  in  number.  The  men, 
under  Captain  Tinker,  ranged  themselves  on  the  beach  and 
fired  a  Federal  Salute  of  fifteen  rounds,  and  then  the  six 
teenth  in  honor  of  New  Connecticut.  Drank  several  toasts. 
Closed  with  three  cheers.  Drank  several  pints  of  grog. 
Supped  and  returned  in  good  order. 

Next  day  a  log  cabin  was  built  on  the  bank  of  Conneaut 
Creek,  and  this  was  called  Stow  Castle,  in  honor  of  the 
commissary  of  the  expedition.  The  roof  was  brush,  wild 
grass  and  sod. 

Thus  another  settlement  was  added  to  the  very  few  west 
of  the  Genesee  River  and  east  of  Detroit.  Before  the 
Cleaveland  party's  arrival  in  New  Connecticut  these  settle 
ments  had  been  the  garrison  at  Niagara,  two  families  at 
Lewistown,  one  at  Buffalo  and  one  at  Sandusky.  There 
were  a  few  adventurers  at  the  Salt  Springs  of  the  Mahon- 


150        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

ing,  but  with  this  exception  the  interior  of  New  Connecticut 
was  a  wilderness. 

General  Cleaveland  was  called  Moses,  "becauses  he  had 
led  his  followers  into  the  wilderness."  Then,  like  Joshua, 
he  proved  a  good  leader  in  opening  the  new  country  for  the 
wilderness  wanderers.  He  sent  surveyors  into  the  interior, 
he  held  councils  with  the  suspicious  Indians,  in  1796  he 
cleared  six  acres  of  land  and  sowed  the  first  seed,  and  he 
founded  a  settlement  which  was  named  Cleaveland  in  his 
honor.  The  name  became  Cleveland  because  of  the  act  of 
the  editor  of  an  early  paper  published  there,  who  omitted 
the  ''a"  since  there  was  no  room  for  it  in  the  headline 
of  his  paper.  From  that  day  the  shorter  form  came  to  be 
accepted. 

One  of  General  Cleaveland' s  most  helpful  acts  was  the 
laying  out,  in  1797,  of  the  Girdled  Road  from  the  Pennsyl 
vania  line  to  Cleveland.  This  followed  an  old  Indian  trail, 
along  the  lake  shore,  which  was  indicated  by  blazed  trees. 

In  1800  Connecticut  surrendered  to  the  United  States 
all  claim  to  civil  jurisdiction  over  the  Western  Reserve,  and 
on  July  10,  1800,  Governor  St.  Clair  created  Trumbuli 
County,  in  which  the  new  settlements  were  included.  At 
the  first  election  held  in  Warren,  forty-two  votes  were  cast. 

In  less  than  three  years,  on  February  19,  1803,  Ohio  be 
came  a  state  in  the  Union  by  the  act  of  Congress  providing 
for  "the  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  within 
the  State  of  Ohio." 

The  character  of  the  population  of  the  new  state  had 
been  determined  by  the  ordinance  of  1787,  making  the 
whole  Northwestern  Territory  free  territory.  Thus  this 
was  "the  first  new  state  that  did  not  'just  grow/  like  Ten 
nessee  and  Kentucky."  9 

From  the  beginning  emigrants  were  attracted  to  the  coun 
try  north  of  the  Ohio  and  south  of  Lake  Erie  from 
New  England,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania.  The  non- 
slave  holding  farmers  of  the  South  Atlantic  states,  as  well 
as  those  from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  flocked  in.  How 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  151 

these  Southerners  looked  on  the  opportunities  offered  by 
Ohio  is  seen  from  a  curious  document  addressed  by  James 
Tongue  to  "The  Middling  People  of  Maryland."  10  In  this 
he  wrote  what  probably  turned  the  thoughts  of  many  lovers 
of  freedom  to  the  Western  Reserve. 

It  is  the  duty  of  those  who  are  in  a  more  humble  or 
dependent  condition  in  life  to  struggle  with  all  their  power 
to  elevate  themselves  and  their  families.  This  can  never 
be  done  by  a  residence  in  Maryland. 

I  have  been  years  devoting  myself  to  acquire  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  several  states  and  territories,  to  ascertain  which 
presented  the  greatest  and  most  certain  natural  advantages. 

Southern  states — no;  burning  heat  &  slavery  the  diffi 
culties.  This  cannot  be  that  safe,  certain,  and  happy  coun 
try,  in  which  I  could  wish  to  plant  my  children  and  my 
grandchildren. 

He  studied  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  but  was 
disgusted  by  the  thought  of  claims  and  counter-claims  which 
would  not  be  settled  for  generations.  In  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  he  found  slavery  and  disputed  titles. 

Vermont  and  Maine  were  locked  up  in  eternal  frost  for 
six  months  in  the  year.  Michigan,  he  declared  was  marshy 
and  was  inundated  seven  months  in  the  year,  and  the  coun 
try  for  months  was  very  cold. 

Indiana  was  one  vast  prairie  without  wood  or  water;  it 
was  distant  from  market,  and  the  colonial  government  was 
not  likely  to  be  changed  in  his  lifetime. 

Then  he  turned  to  Ohio,  "the  only  place  that  combined 
certainty  of  title  with  richness  of  soil,  conveniency  to  mar 
ket,  relief  from  the  evils  of  slavery,  an  invaluable  fishing, 
convenience  of  water  communication,  and  a  climate  both 
healthy  and  agreeable." 

The  section  of  all  others  in  Ohio,  he  said,  was  New  Con 
necticut.  "Here,  fellow-citizens,  after  the  most  mature  re 
flection,  and  the  most  complete  information  I  could  ac 
quire,  I  have  determined  to  settle  myself  and  family,  at 
some  place  not  very  distant  from  the  lake." 


152         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Then  he  proceeded  to  set  forth  in  detail  reasons  why  the 
Middling  People  of  Maryland  should  follow  his  example. 

Jacob  Russell  of  Connecticut  was  one  of  the  early  emi 
grants  to  the  Cleveland  country.  He  traveled  with  an  ox 
team,  his  wife  riding  alongside  on  horseback.  When  they 
reached  the  Reserve,  he  left  her  and  returned  for  their 
children.  One  of  them,  years  later,  recorded  her  ex 
periences  :  n 

Our  journey  was  attended  with  the  greatest  suffering. 
My  youngest  sister  was  sick  all  the  way,  dying  three  days 
after  our  arrival.  Father  was  then  taken  down  with  ague, 
so  our  new  house  was  built  slowly.  With  the  greatest 
difficulty  mother  hewed  with  an  adze  the  stub  ends  of  the 
floor  boards,  and  put  them  close  down  with  the  little  help 
father  could  give  her. 

In  1 80 1  Timothy  Doane's  wife  and  children  followed 
him  from  Buffalo  to  Cleveland.  One  of  the  sons,  at  that 
time  three  years  old,  when  he  was  a  man,  wrote  a  description 
of  the  trip : 

Besides  the  four  children,  mother  was  accompanied  by 
an  Indian  and  several  white  men,  whom  she  had  hired  to 
assist  us  on  the  journey.  We  came  by  Lake  Erie  ...  in 
an  ordinary  row-boat,  propelled  by  oars  most  of  the  way, 
but  frequently  by  a  tow-line  in  the  hands  of  the  Indian,  who 
walked  along  the  bank.  ...  At  the  mouth  of  Grand  river 
the  boat  was  overturned,  and  loss  of  lives  was  prevented 
only  because  the  water  was  shallow. 

Other  families  came  in  two-wheeled  carts,  some  on  small 
wagons  to  which  but  one  horse  was  attached  .  .  .  Streams 
had  to  be  crossed  by  any  means  that  could  be  improvised. 
...  It  was  not  unusual  for  a  team  to  give  out,  and  a  week 
or  even  a  fortnight  be  allowed  for  recuperation. 


II.     FROM  LAND  TO  WATER 

Hope  and   Courage  whispered,   Go, 

Ye  who  toil  and  ye  who  wait, 
Opportunities  in  starlight,  lo, 

Open   swing  the   people's   gate ! 
Beyond  the  mountains  and  under  the  skies 
Of  the  Wonderful  West  your  future  lies, 
On  the  banks  of  the  Beautiful  River, 

By  the  shores  of  the  Lakes  of  the  North, 
There  fortune  to  each  will  deliver 

His  share  of  the  teeming  earth. 

— W.  H.  Venable. 

THE  first  great  improvement  in  transportation  to  the 
Western  Reserve  came  when  the  Walk-in-the-Water,  the 
first  steamboat  on  the  Great  Lakes,  was  built.  An  eye 
witness  of  the  vessel's  first  voyage  described  it  thus: 12 

On  the  twenty- fourth  day  of  August,  1818,  an  entire 
novelty — the  like  of  which  not  one  in  five  hundred  of  the 
inhabitants  had  ever  seen — presented  itself  before  the  peo 
ple  of  Cuyahoga  County.  On  that  day  the  residents  along 
the  lake  shore  of  Euclid  saw  upon  the  lake  a  curious  kind 
of  vessel  making  what  was  considered  very  rapid  progress 
westward,  without  the  aid  of  sails,  while  from  a  pipe  near 
the  middle  rose  a  dark  cloud  of  smoke,  which  trailed  its 
gloomy  length  far  into  the  rear  of  the  swift-gliding  mysteri 
ous  traveller  on  the  deep.  They  watched  its  westward 
course  until  it  turned  its  prow  toward  the  harbor  of  Cleve 
land;  and  then  turned  back  to  their  work.  Many  of  them 
doubtless  knew  what  it  was,  but  some  shook  their  heads  in 
sad  surmise  as  to  whether  some  evil  power  were  not  at 
work  introducing  such  a  strange  phenomenon  as  that  on 
the  bosom  of  their  beloved  Lake  Erie.  Meanwhile  the 
citizens  of  Cleveland,  perceiving  the  approach  of  the 
monster,  hastened  to  the  lake  shore  to  examine  it.  "What 

153 


154         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

is  it  ?  What  is  it  ?  Where  did  it  come  from  ?  What  makes 
it  go?"  queried  one  and  another  of  the  excited  throng.  "It's 
the  steamboat!  That's  what  it  is!"  cried  others  in  reply. 
"Yes!  Yes!  It's  the  steamboat!"  was  the  general  shout, 
and  with  ringing  cheers  the  people  watched  the  first  vessel 
propelled  by  steam  that  had  ever  traversed  the  waters  of 
Lake  Erie. 

For  thousands  of  emigrants  the  journey  to  the  West  was 
made  simple  by  this  pioneer  of  modern  lake  transportation. 
What  a  sigh  of  relief  they  must  have  breathed  when  they 
were  able  to  put  behind  them  the  struggles  with  roads  of  all 
sorts,  or  of  no  sort,  and  let  steam  take  them  the  remainder 
of  the  way  to  the  desired  haven! 

The  development  of  steamboats  on  the  lakes  led  an  early 
historian  to  exclaim : 13 

The  West! — A  name  given  only  a  few  years  since  to  a 
remote,  boundless  and  unsettled  wilderness,  inhabited  only 
by  roving  bands  of  wild  Indians,  and  savage  animals — 
visited  only  by  the  Indian  trader,  or  some  romantic  spirit 
pleased  with  the  novelty  of  an  adventure  into  unknown 
regions, — a  country  which  it  appeared  centuries  must 
pass  away  before  settlement  and  civilization  would 
occupy  it — has  suddenly,  as  if  by  magic,  with  the  powerful 
aid  of  steam,  and  the  indomitable  enterprise,  industry  and 
perseverance  of  a  free  people,  with  the  blessings  of  free  in 
stitutions,  securing  to  all  the  fruits  of  their  own  labor,  been 
reclaimed  from  the  wilderness.  All  physical  difficulties 
have  been  overcome,  this  vast  region  of  country  has  been 
penetrated  in  all  quarters.  .  .  . 

It  remained  for  the  Erie  Canal  to  make  easy  the  journey 
from  Albany  to  Buffalo.  As  early  as  1804  Gouverneur 
Morris  had  suggested  this  artificial  waterway,  which  would 
divert  trade  from  Canada  and  would  be  an  important  factor 
in  linking  the  West  to  the  East,  and  so  supplying  the  cement 
of  interest  to  prevent  the  catastrophe  of  which  Washington 
gave  a  note  of  warning  when  he  said : 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  155 

The  Western  States  stand,  as  it  were,  upon  a  pivot — the 
touch  of  a  feather  would  turn  them  any  way. 

Years  passed,  however,  before  anything  was  done.  It 
was  hoped  that  Congress  would  undertake  the  building  of 
the  canal,  but  Congress  did  not  see  the  way  to  do  this.  One 
enthusiastic  writer14  spoke  of  the  disappointment  of  Con 
gress  that  receipts  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  had  been 
so  small,  and  suggested  the  building  of  the  canal  as  a 
remedy.  He  said: 

In  relation  to  this  subject  the  Canal  must  be  viewed 
with  great  interest.  It  has  even  been  estimated  by  very  dis 
cerning  calculators  that  should  the  national  government 
make  the  whole  Canal  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Lakes,  at 
an  expense  of  five  millions  of  dollars,  the  rise  it  would  pro 
duce  in  the  sale  of  public  lands  must  remunerate  the  dis 
bursements  of  the  nation  in  ten  or  fifteen  years.  This  esti 
mate,  in  all  probability,  is  very  nearly  correct.  Certain  it  is, 
that  their  value  must  depend  on  a  disposition  to  settle 
them ;  and  they  must  be  settled  and  reclaimed  from  a  wilder 
ness  state  by  emigrants  from  the  eastern  section  of  our 
union,  and  other  thick  settled  parts  of  the  country.  What 
are  now  the  greatest  objections  to  taking  up  and  inhabiting 
these  public  lands?  The  difficulties  and  expenses  of  emigra 
tion  and  the  want  of  a  ready  market  for  surplus  produce. 

Remove  these  objections,  and  the  stream  of  emigration 
would  be  broad,  deep  and  constant,  as  that  great  and 
gigantic  flood,  sent  forth  from  the  Lakes,  whose  borders 
it  would  people.  Towns,  villages  and  cities  would  spring 
up,  and  emerge  from  the  bosom  of  the  wilderness,  as 
though  the  soil  was  smitten  by  some  potent  and  creative 
wand  of  enchantment.  .  .  . 

The  character  of  the  emigrants  too  will  be  much  im 
proved  by  our  canal.  A  great  proportion  of  the  population 
which  has  poured  into  the  western  country  for  the  last  few 
years,  has  been  honest,  enterprising,  but  needy,  and  forced 
upon  adventure  by  necessity.  Their  object  has  been,  sub 
sistence  and  comfort  for  their  numerous  families.  But 
when  ready  markets,  with  easy  and  regular  transportation 


156         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

are  opened  to  these  countries,  men  of  capital  and  men,  too, 
of  higher  standing,  as  agriculturists,  will  be  induced  to  leave 
an  old  for  a  new  and  more  genial  soil.  Foreign  emigrants 
of  large  fortunes  will  also  be  induced  to  cast  a  favorable 
eye  on  these  tempting  territories. 


Excavations  for  this,  the  greatest  work  yet  attempted  in 
America,  were  begun  in  1817.  On  October  23,  1819,  the 
waterway  was  opened  from  Utica  to  Rome.  In  1825  the 
finishing  touches  were  put  to  what  Hulbert  calls  a  "forty- 
foot  waterway  in  the  center  of  a  sixty-foot  aisle  from  Lake 
Erie  to  the  Hudson,"  much  of  which  had  to  be  cut  through 
the  virgin  forest. 

The  part  played  by  the  Erie  Canal  in  the  development  of 
the  country  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  between  1820  and 
1840  the  population  of  New  York  State  jumped  from  i,- 
372,812  to  2,428,921.  Along  the  route  of  the  canal  towns 
were  built,  cities  grew  like  mushrooms,  and  farm  lands 
were  developed.  Pennsylvania  gained  somewhat,  but  Ohio 
was  the  greatest  gainer,  outside  of  New  York.  The  towns 
in  the  Western  Reserve  grew  rapidly.  Indiana  did  not  feel 
the  impulse  to  a  great  extent,  as,  somehow,  comparatively 
few  of  the  emigrants  who  went  by  the  northern  route 
stopped  within  her  borders.  Illinois  made  a  great  growth 
between  1825  and  1830,  and  in  the  next  ten  years  the  ad 
vance  was  startling. 

The  majority  of  those  who  came  from  New  England  fol 
lowed  the  Erie  Canal,  Lake  Erie,  and  wagon  roads  on 
ward. 

Lois  Kimball  Matthews  says: 

So  great  was  the  influx  of  Puritan  stock,  that  the  per 
sonnel  of  representatives  and  senators  from  Illinois  had  by 
1850  changed  greatly  and  the  revision  of  the  State  Con 
stitution  in  1847-8  provided  for  the  adoption  of  the  town 
ship  system  or  the  county  system  as  the  majority  of  voters 
might  decide.15 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  157 

Michigan's  boom  began  in  1830.  In  1837  emigrants 
were  singing: 

Then  there's  old  Varmount,  well,  what  d'you  think  of  that? 
To  be  sure  the  gals  are  handsome  and  the  cattle  very  fat: 
But  who  among  the  mountains,  'mid  cloud  and  snow  would  stay, 
When  he  can  buy  a  prairie,  in  Michigania? 
Yea,  yea,  yea,  in  Michigania. 

Then  there's  the  State  of  New  York,  where  some  are  very  rich; 
Themselves  and  a  few  others  have  dug  a  mighty  ditch. 
To  render  it  more  easy  for  us  to  find  the  way 
And  sail  upon  the  waters  to  Michigania: 
Yea,  yea,  yea,  to  Michigania. 

Lanman,  in  his  history  of  Michigan,  said  in  1839  that 
the  Erie  Canal  "unfolds  a  new  avenue  to  the  prosperity  of 
Michigan/'  a  territory  which  had  been  "obliged  to  grapple 
with  the  obstacles  springing  from  its  remote  position,  and 
the  want  of  convenient  modes  of  transportation  of  articles 
of  large  bulk  on  the  land  between  Albany  and  Lake  Erie." 
The  opening  of  the  canal  provided  for  emigrants  "cheap 
and  easy  transportation  for  themselves  and  their  merchan 
dise,  and  this  line  of  communication  continued  to  be 
crowded  with  settlers  who  broke  up  their  establishments  in 
the  less  generous  soil  of  the  East,  and  were  advancing  to 
plant  themselves  in  the  land  of  promise  on  the  Lakes." 

"To  these  New  England  emigrants  Michigan  owed  its 
New  England's  character,"  Lois  Kimball  Matthews  says  in 
quoting  Lanman.  Then  she  concludes: 

The  Erie  canal,  then,  was  a  very  substantial  aid  in  push 
ing  the  frontier  farther  to  the  west  and  the  northwest. 
Owing  its  inception  to  a  time  when  New  York  and  Penn 
sylvania  were  on  the  frontier,  its  completion  was  the  signal 
for  making  the  more  sparsely  inhabited  portions  of  those 
states  as  densely  settled  as  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  It 
was  by  this  route  that  the  descendants  of  those  Pilgrims  and 
Puritans  who  had  been  frontier-builders  in  1620  and  1630, 
pushed  on  to  build  states  on  new  lines  in  the  old  Northwest. 


158         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Here  they  met  descendants  of  that  pther  line  of  pioneers 
who  began  their  frontier-building  upon  the  James  River  in 
1607.  Forced  to  yield  in  some  points  the  New  Englanders 
could  force  their  own  standards  in  some  other  respects,  and 
so  preserve  certain  of  their  traditions.  To  the  Erie  canal, 
then,  may  be  ascribed,  in  no  uncertain  measure,  certain  dis 
tinctive  Puritan  traits  and  characteristics  which  have 
entered  into  the  making  of  what  is  to-day  the  northeastern 
portion  of  our  great  "Middle  West." 

Journals  of  early  travelers  give  interesting  details  of  the 
trip  through  the  Erie  Canal.  In  1826  Dr.  Estes  of  the 
Rensselaer  school  of  Troy,  New  York,  chartered  a  canal 
boat  to  take  sixteen  or  eighteen  of  his  pupils  on  a  natural 
history  trip.16 

This  historian  of  the  expedition  said: 

Besides  clothing  I  carry  with  me  a  small  trunk  and  a 
carpet-bag,  the  latter,  in  which  the  greater  part  of  my  goods 
are  stuffed,  will  make  a  comfortable  pillow,  while  my  blue 
camblet  cloak  will  serve  as  a  bed. 

The  expense  of  the  trip  was  not  to  exceed  $20  for  each 
person.  The  slow  method  of  travel  gave  ample  opportunity 
to  make  natural  history  observations  along  the  road.  The 
greatest  delay  came  at  the  locks,  owing  to  the  number  of 
boats  by  which  they  were  thronged. 

In  June,  1827,  Captain  Basil  Hall 17  with  his  wife  and 
daughter,  left  the  private  stage  by  which  they  were  going 
to  Buffalo,  that  they  might  have  a  day's  experience  on  the 
canal  boat.  Captain  Hall  wrote: 

We  left  Schenectady  in  the  canal  packet,  and  were  towed 
along  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  and  a  half  per  hour  upon 
the  average.  .  .  .  We  were  fully  under  the  avowed  con 
sciousness  of  being  very  happy,  with  a  boundless  field  of 
novel  interest  stretching  far  before  us. 

Nothing  on  earth,  however,  it  should  seem,  is  without 
some  drawback,  and  our  day  dreams  accordingly  were 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  159 

much  disturbed  by  the  necessity  of  stepping  hastily  down 
off  the  deck  as  often  as  we  had  to  pass  under  one  of  the 
innumerable  little  bridges  built  across  the  canal.  Their 
height  was  barely  sufficient  for  the  boat  to  shoot  through 
and  at  first,  when  called  to  by  the  steersman,  "Bridge! — 
Passengers ! — mind  the  low  bridge !"  it  was  rather  amusing 
to  hop  down  and  then  to  hop  up  again ;  but  by  and  by,  this 
skipping  about  became  very  tiresome,  and  marred  the 
tranquillity  of  the  day  very  much. 

There  are  two  cabins  in  these  canal  barges ;  one  of  which 
is  for  the  ladies,  and  really  not  very  uncomfortable-looking. 
In  the  gentlemen's  cabin  there  was  no  appearance  of  beds, 
only  a  line  of  lockers  along  each  side.  After  supper,  how 
ever,  about  8  o'clock,  I  was  surprised  to  see  these  lockers 
folded  out  into  a  range  of  beds.  But  what  struck  me  as 
being  extremely  ingenious  was  a  second  or  higher  tier  of 
sleeping  births,  formed  by  a  number  of  broad  shelves,  as 
it  were;  little  frames  with  laced  sacking  bottoms,  hinged 
to  the  sides  of  the  cabin  midway  between  the  roof  or  upper 
deck  and  the  lower  beds. 

These  airy  resting  places,  or  mats,  were  held  in  their 
horizontal  position  at  night  by  two  supporting  cords 
fastened  to  the  roof  of  the  cabin,  and,  in  the  day  time  were 
allowed  to  hang  down  against  the  vessel's  side  like  the  leaf 
of  a  table. 

One  day  on  the  canal  was  quite  enough,  and  the  stage 
was  taken  next  day. 

In  1829  Colonel  William  L.  Stone,  editor  of  the  New 
York  Commercial,  used  the  canal.18  He  wrote : 

Sept.  4.  Left  Utica  ...  in  a  new  and  splendid  canal 
packet  boat  for  the  West.  She  is  truly  a  superior  boat, 
fitted  up  with  the  elegance  and  taste  of  a  North  river 
steamer,  though  on  a  smaller  scale. 

Next  day,  at  Syracuse,  he  exclaimed  at  the  transforma 
tion,  due  to  the  Erie  Canal,  in  large  measure.  He  saw  a 
city  where  nine  years  before  he  had  seen  but  five  or  six 


160         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

scattered  tenements,  "the  village  toeing  surrounded  by  a 
desolate,  poverty-stricken  woody  country,  enough  to  make 
an  owl  weep  to  fly  over  it." 

October  5.  On  way  from  Albion  to  Lockport.  Stepping 
ashore  a  moment  while  the  boat  stopp't  to  water  the  horses 
in  order  to  look  more  at  the  village,  I  was  surprised  to  find 
on  turning  round  that  the  boat  was  off,  and  a  bend  in  the 
canal  had  thrown  it  out  of  sight,  as  if  by  magic.  I  lost 
some  moments  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  get  a  horse  to  follow 
on;  but  was  compelled  to  test  my  own  speed,  which,  hin 
dered  with  a  heavy  overcoat,  and  an  asthmatic  affection, 
was  none  of  the  fleetest.  However,  after  running  about  a 
mile,  I  came  near  enough  to  hail  the  boat,  at  the  moment 
I  was  so  much  exhausted  that  I  could  not  have  run  another 
rod  for  an  estate. 

October  19  ...  Every  berth  and  settee,  and  all  the  space 
on  the  floor  was  occupied  before  10  o'clock,  with  horizontal 
exhibitions  of  the  human  frame  divine;  and  a  squalling 
child  in  the  ladies'  cabin  and  a  bull-necked  snoring  man  in 
the  stern  .  .  .  banished  refreshing  sleep.  It  was  a  sad 
night  for  all,  especially  the  ladies.  N.  B.  Little  children, 
and  people  who  snore,  have  no  business  on  board  of  a 
packet  boat. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Spencer  went  from  New  York  to  Niagara 
in  1835.  At  Schenectady  she  stepped  on  a  canal  boat.  She 
said:19 

The  boat  was  exceedingly  pleasant,  and  it  seemed  such 
a  relief  from  the  hot  bustling  steamboat  and  the  close, 
hurried  railroad  car,  to  the  quiet  movement  of  the  canal 
boat.  The  windows  of  the  boat  are  sufficiently  large  to 
make  the  views  pleasant  from  them. . . .  We  ascended  sev 
eral  locks  during  the  day,  at  each  of  which  we  had  an  op 
portunity  of  leaving  the  boat  and  walking  a  short  distance 
if  we  chose. 

In  1837  Harriet  Martineau  took  passage  on  a  canal  boat 
at  Utica.  She  was  not  altogether  pleased : 20 


From  "Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsylvania" 


FORTY    FORT   IX    1778 


From  "National  Gallery  of  American  Landscape' 


OX    A   NEW   YORK   WATERWAY 


From  "The  Magazine  of  American  History" 

OLD   FORT    VAX    RENSSELAER,    CAXAJOHARIE,    XEW    YORK 


From  fichoolcraft' 


Historical  Conditions  and  Prospects 

of  the  Fndunis  in  lhe  Ignited  titatex" 


CHICAGO   IN    1820 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  161 

I  would  never  advise  ladies  to  travel  by  canal,  unless  the 
boats  are  quite  new  and  clean;  or,  at  least,  far  better  kept 
than  any  that  I  saw  or  heard  of  on  this  canal.  On  fine 
days  it  is  pleasant  enough  outside  (except  for  having  to 
duck  under  the  bridges  every  quarter  of  an  hour,  under 
penalty  of  having  one's  head  crushed  to  atoms,  and  in  dark 
evenings  the  approach  of  the  boatlights  on  the  water  is  a 
pleasant  sight;  but  the  horrors  of  night  and  of  wet  days 
more  than  compensate  for  all  the  advantages  these  vehicles 
can  boast. 

The  heat  and  noises,  the  vicinity  of  a  compressed  crowd, 
lying  packed  like  herrings  in  a  barrel,  the  bumping  against 
the  side  of  the  locks,  and  the  hissing  of  the  water  therein 
like  an  inundation,  startling  one  from  sleep;  these  things 
are  very  disagreeable.  ...  If  there  be  a  duty  more  obvious 
than  another  on  board  a  canal  boat,  it  is  to  walk  on  the  bank 
occasionally  in  fine  weather,  or,  at  least,  lo  remain  outside 
in  order  to  air  the  cabin  (close  enough  at  best)  and  get 
rid  of  the  scents  of  the  table  before  the  unhappy  passengers 
are  shut  up  to  sleep  there. 

The  appearance  of  the  berths  in  the  ladies'  cabin  was  so 
repulsive  that  we  were  seriously  contemplating  sitting  out 
all  night,  when  it  began  to  rain,  so  as  to  leave  us  no  choice. 

Charges  of  extortion  were  made  by  many  of  the  emi 
grants  and  it  is  certain  that  in  some  cases  these  charges 
were  justified  by  the  facts.  From  the  first,  efforts  were 
made  to  hold  in  check  those  who  preyed  on  the  travelers, 
but  it  seemed  impossible  to  correct  the  trouble  altogether. 
Even  as  late  as  1847  21  an  official  examination  of  witnesses 
by  the  state  developed  humiliating  facts.  A  man  whose 
business  it  was  to  forward  Americans  from  New  York 
owned : 

It  is  a  fact  that  I  and  others  engaged  in  the  business  get 
all  we  can  from  passengers,  except  that  I  never  shave  a  lady 
that  is  traveling  alone,  it  is  bad  enough  to  shave  a  man.  I 
have  all  I  get  over  a  certain  amount  which  is  paid  to  the 
transportation  companies.  .  .  .  The  passenger  goes  from 
here  to  Albany  by  steamboat;  to  Schenectady  by  railroad: 


162        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

then  by  line  boat  to  Buffalo;  I  have  represented  in  many 
instances  to  passengers  that  they  wctuld  be  forwarded  by 
packet  on  the  canal ;  but  when  they  arrived  at  Schenectady 
they  were  sent  by  line  boat.* 

*  Line  boats  traveled  at  the  sedate  pace  of  two  and  a  half  miles 
an  hour.  Travelers  who  were  willing  to  pay  an  extra  rate  of  fare 
went  by  limited  packet  boats,  which  made  few  stops  and  thus  were  able 
to  cover  an  average  distance  of  something  like  the  four  miles  which 
the  state  law  allowed;  they  could  go  from  Albany  to  Buffalo  in  six 
days. 


III.     ALL  THE  WAY  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

When  the  hill  of  toil  was  steepest, 
When  the  forest-frown  was  deepest, 

Poor,  but  young,  you  hastened  here; 
Came  when  solid  hope  was  cheapest — 

Came  a  pioneer. 
Made  the  western  jungle   view 

Civilization's   charms ; 
Snatched  a  home  for  yours  and  you, 

From  the  lean  tree-arms. 
Toil  had  never  ceased  to  doubt  you, — 

Progress'  path  you  helped  to  clear; 
But  To-day  forgets  about  you, 
And  the  world  rides  on  without  you — 

Sleep,   old   pioneer! 

—Will  Carleton. 

THOSE  who  were  able  to  travel  by  canal  boat  were  not  so 
well  prepared  for  the  struggle  of  pioneer  life  on  the  West 
ern  Reserve  as  those  who  toiled  through  the  almost  un 
broken  wilderness  during  the  first  days  of  New  Connecticut. 
These  hardy  emigrants  took  as  a  matter  of  course  such  ex 
periences  as  that  of  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  the  first  minister 
in  the  section,  who  spent  one  night  in  a  tall  tree,  tied  to  a 
limb  by  his  bandana,  lest  he  fall  during  sleep,  while  a  bear 
kept  company  with  his  horse  at  the  foot  of  the  beech. 

A  settler  who  had  gone  a  day's  journey  to  get  food  for 
his  family  left  his  wife  and  children  at  home : 

Before  he  left  the  cabin  was  made  to  look  forsaken — as 
though  the  family  had  suddenly  removed  from  it.22  Cook 
ing  utensils  and  such  other  implements  as  they  possessed 
were  hid  in  the  woods.  No  fire  was  kindled.  The  slabs, 
split  out  of  logs  with  the  axe — called  puncheons — which 
had  been  laid  down  as  a  floor,  were  taken  up  and  thrown 

163 


16*        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

confusedly  around — principally  piled  in  one  corner  of  the 
building.  Under  these  an  excavation  was  made  in  the 
ground,  and  some  bed  clothes  thrown  down,  where  the 
woman  and  her  child  might  be  concealed  if  she  saw  signs 
that  Indians  were  in  the  vicinity.  Here  this  brave  pioneer 
woman  had  slept,  or  rather  watched  one  weary  night. 
Early  the  next  morning  as  she  looked  out  stealthily  through 
the  chinks  of  the  cabin,  she  perceived  Indians  lurking  upon 
the  edge  of  the  clearing.  She  hastened  with  her  infant  child 
to  her  place  of  concealment  under  the  floor.  The  Indians, 
when  they  supposed  they  had  satisfied  themselves  that  the 
cabin  was  forsaken,  came  in  and  examined  the  premises  to 
see  if  anything  were  left  worth  appropriating.  While  they 
remained,  the  woman  lay  nursing  her  child  to  keep  it  from 
movement  and  noise.  Once  or  twice  the  movement  of  the 
little  one,  it  seemed  to  her,  would  surely  betray  her;  but 
the  talk  and  tramping  of  the  Indians  prevented  their  quick 
ears  from  catching  the  sound  from  beneath.  In  a  short 
time  they  hastened  away,  fearing,  perhaps,  an  ambush  at 
tack  by  the  settlers.  The  husband  returned,  heard  the  story 
of  his  wife's  peril,  and  removed  his  family  to  the  "block 
house,"  a  frontier  fort,  and  hastened  to  give  warning  to 
the  pioneers  that  Indians  were  prowling  upon  their  border. 

Probably  the  quaintest  figure  of  the  early  days  in  the 
Western  Reserve  was  the  mysterious  Jonathan  Chapman, 
who  came  into  the  territory  in  1801  with  a  wagon  load  of 
apple  seeds,  gathered  from  the  cider  presses  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.23 

From  that  day  he  seemed  to  have  but  one  object  in  life 
— to  see  that  the  settlers,  who  had  all  they  could  do  to  look 
after  the  bare  necessities  of  existence,  were  provided  with 
young  apple  trees.  He  was  always  thinking  of  his  young 
orchards,  which  he  planted  here  and  there,  growing  the 
trees  from  seeds.  As  he  traveled  from  place  to  place  he 
dreamed  of  the  future  when  the  whole  Western  Reserve 
would  be  filled  with  apple  orchards.  As  "Jctany  Apple- 
seed/'  he  was  known  far  and  near. 

It  was  his  way  to  keep  just  a  little  in  advance  of  the  new- 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  165 

est  settlements.  On  the  sheltered  banks  of  some  stream  he 
would  set  out  a  little  nursery,  making  a  slight  enclosure,  and 
taking  steps  to  protect  the  tender  shoots  from  destruction. 
He  had  dozens  of  these  nurseries,  which  he  visited  as  con 
stantly  as  a  trapper  makes  the  rounds  of  his  traps,  and  as 
lovingly  as  a  mother  goes  at  night  from  bed  to  bed  in  the 
home  nursery.  When  the  trees  were  ready  for  transplant 
ing,  he  was  accustomed  to  leave  them  in  charge  of  some  one 
as  his  agent,  with  instructions  to  sell  them  at  a  nominal 
price,  or  to  give  them  to  people  who  could  pay  nothing. 
Gradually  he  made  his  way  farther  westward,  into  Indiana 
and  up  to  Michigan,  but  always  he  returned  periodically 
to  look  after  the  orchards  in  the  older  settlements  and  to 
greet  those  who  were  enjoying  the  fruit  for  which  he  had 
spent  himself  so  unselfishly. 

Always  there  was  a  fresh  supply  of  emigrants  who  fol 
lowed  Johnny  Appleseed  in  his  pilgrimages  through  the 
forests.  The  day  came  when  his  orchards  invited  them  over 
into  the  Michigan  Territory. 

In  the  spring  of  1833  the  father  of  Mrs.  Withey  took  his 
four  little  daughters  to  Richland,  then  Gull  Prairie,  Mich 
igan.  They  did  not  need  to  toil  through  the  Western 
Reserve,  but  were  able  to  take  the  far  easier  journey  by 
lake  boat  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit.  By  ox  wagon  they  went 
to  their  destination,  where  they  lived  in  the  typical  settler's 
cabin.  "How  that  house  did  look  every  time  it  rained!" 
Mrs.  Withey  said.24  "We  had  to  cover  the  beds  with  tin 
pans  and  dishes  to  catch  the  water." 

Four  years  later  Jesse  Munro  went  from  Buffalo,  where 
he  had  paused  for  more  than  twenty  years  on  his  way  from 
Vermont,  through  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin, 
to  Michigan.25  When  he  left  Buffalo,  in  company  with 
others,  he  had  no  idea  of  going  to  Michigan.  Later  his 
daughter  wrote: 

They  had  been  "Michiganders,"  as  they  were  called,  re 
turning  to  the  state  of  New  York.  Their  sallow  com- 


166        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

plexions  and  the  tales  they  told  of  shaking  with  the  fever 
and  ague  made  my  father  think  that  Michigan  was  no  place 
for  him.  Nevertheless  they  decided  to  see  for  themselves. 

Much  to  their  surprise  they  found  the  state  satisfactory. 
Later  he  went  back  for  his  family.  They  traveled  by  steam 
to  Detroit,  and  from  there  they  went  by  wagon. 

The  first  day  out  from  Detroit,  we  went  only  ten  miles. 
The  road  was  simply  terrible.  There  were  places  where 
there  were  half  a  dozen  tracks  where  different  travelers  had 
endeavored  to  get  around  the  deep  mud  holes,  but  each  one 
seemed  equally  bad.  The  wagon  wheels  would  sink  below 
the  hubs,  and  our  team  was  powerless  to  draw  the  load. 
There  was  little  travel  through  the  country  as  inhabitants 
were  far  apart.  Wherever  there  was  an  inhabitant  we 
found  hospitality.  We  were  never  obliged  to  go  further 
for  accommodations.  We  were  asked  to  share  with  them 
what  they  had. 

One  place  I  remember  where  there  was  a  large  log  house 
with  very  wide  doors.  After  supper  the  doors  were  thrown 
open,  the  two  being  on  opposite  sides  of  the  house;  a  yoke 
of  oxen  then  drew  a  log  ten  feet  long  and  three  feet  in 
diameter  through  one  door  and  rolled  it  into  the  fireplace 
for  a  back  log.  Another  log  two  feet  through  was  drawn 
in  and  placed  on  top  of  the  first  one  for  a  back  stick;  a 
third  one  of  similar  size  by  the  same  process  was  placed  on 
large  stones  in  place  of  andirons  for  a  forestick;  smaller 
split  wood  was  then  piled  upon  these  logs  and  then  there 
was  a  fire  to  last  twenty- four  hours,  with  a  few  additions 
of  small  sticks  during  the  next  day. 

Finally  the  party  were  within  six  miles  of  their  destina 
tion.  It  was  necessary  to  clear  a  road  through  the  forest 
for  this  distance.  The  best  of  the  trees  cut  were  saved  for 
the  log  house.  The  lumber  used  in  making  the  door  and 
window  casings  was  from  the  boxing  of  the  furniture. 

Among  the  records  of  pioneer  days  one  of  the  most  sug 
gestive  is  that  of  A.  H.  Conant,26  who  started  west  in 
September,  1832,  a  month  before  he  was  twenty-one.  He 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  167 

went  by  canal  to  Saratoga,  New  York.  At  Schenectady  he 
saw  for  the  first  time  a  railroad,  on  which  were  two  cars, 
fastened  together,  and  carrying  from  twenty  to  thirty  pas 
sengers,  all  drawn  by  one  horse  at  a  speed  of  a  mile  in  five 
minutes. 

From  Buffalo  he  went  to  Detroit  by  steam,  and  from  De 
troit  to  Chicago  on  foot.  This  he  did  both  for  reasons  of 
economy  and  that  he  might  see  the  country. 

He  started  from  Detroit  on  the  worst  roads  he  had  ever 
seen.  On  the  Cold  Water  Prairie  he  saw  six  deer  in  one 
herd.  He  stopped  three  days  at  Niles,  a  town  of  four  stores 
and  two  taverns,  where  he  built  a  chimney  and  taught  a 
class  of  four  young  men  some  of  the  principles  of  stenog 
raphy,  and  so  made  more  than  his  expenses.  The  night 
after  leaving  Niles  he  was  lost  in  a  swamp  and  plunged 
about  until  his  shouts  were  heard  and  he  was  rescued. 

After  crossing  from  Michigan  to  Indiana  he  stopped 
one  night  in  Indiana  at  the  house  of  a  Frenchman  who  was 
married  to  a  squaw  and  lived  on  the  Indian  lands,  with  no 
other  houses  for  fifty  miles.  He  devoted  himself  to  fleecing 
travelers  who  either  slept  with  him  or  stopped  m  the  woods. 

When  the  traveler  was  five  days  out  from  Detroit  he 
reached  Chicago,  where  there  was  nothing  worth  noting 
except  Fort  Dearborn.  In  his  journal  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  town  would  become  a  place  of  considerable 
importance. 

After  an  hour  he  pushed  on,  and  that  night  he  slept  with 
a  wagoner  under  his  wagon. 

At  the  Du  Page  he  was  told  that  not  less  than  one  hundred 
houses  had  been  built  during  three  years  in  a  circuit  of 
twenty-five  miles. 

Near  the  Bureau  river  he  lost  his  way,  but  found  it  by 
the  light  of  the  prairie  fires  that  night. 

Next  day  he  discovered  that  the  wolves  in  the  region  were 
very  troublesome,  destroying  many  sheep  and  hogs.  Wild 
honey  was  so  abundant  on  the  bluff  and  river  banks  that 
bee-hunters  sold  it  for  three  cents  a  pound. 


168         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

One  day  he  was  lost  on  the  prairie,  because  he  was  un 
able  to  see  a  single  tree,  "any  more  than  if  he  had  been  in 
the  middle  of  the  Atlantic." 

From  this  prospecting  trip  he  returned  to  the  East,  and 
three  years  later  he  returned  and  settled  on  the  banks  of 
the  Des  Plaines  river,  about  twenty  miles  northwest  of 
Chicago.  He  kept  a  journal  from  January,  1836  to  May, 
1840.  The  entries  were  brief,  but  it  is  one  of  the  truest 
pictures  of  frontier  life  available.  Here  are  a  few  extracts: 

1836,  Jan.  i.  Attended  to  the  survey  of  my  claim. 

2.  Drew  rails. 

3.  Sunday.     Wrote  poetry. 

4.  Made  shelves  and  split  rails. 

5.  Went  to  Chicago  with  a  load  of  potatoes. 

6.  Sold  my  potatoes  for  seventy-five  cents 

a  bushel. 

7.  Cut  apples,  worked  at  my  house,  husked 

corn. 

8.  Attended  a  meeting  of  settlers  for  se 

curing  to  each  man  his  present  claim. 

9.  Cut  rail  timber. 

10.  Sunday.    Went  to  Chicago. 

11.  Commenced  thrashing. 

12.  Still  thrashing. 

1836  Attended  a  meeting  called  to  get  the  mail 

route  changed  from  Chicago  to  Green 
Bay,  from  the  beach  of  the  lake  to 
Auxplaines  River. 

Brought  in  a  deer  .  .  .  Made  a  coffin  for 
Mrs.  Dougherty,  and  helped  to  bury 
her.    Made  and  bottomed  chairs. 
May  10.     Mrs.  Hoard  and  Betsy  Kelsey  arrived. 

11.  Planted  corn  and  prepared  for  the  wed 

ding. 

12.  Married  Betsy  Kelsey. 

June  3.  Made  a  table,  and  borrowed  six  bushels 
of  potatoes,  to  be  paid  back  with  in 
terest  in  the  fall. 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  169 

June  3.     Wife    eighteen    to-day.      Made    a    few 

articles  of  furniture.  Made  a  churn. 
September  Heard  big  wolves  howling  .  .  .  Hunted 
deer  .  .  .  Worked  at  Shoemaking . . . 
Made  a  coffin  for  H.  Dougherty . . . 
Plastered  my  house  .  . .  Dressed  pig 
and  calves  torn  by  wolves . . .  Dug  a 
well .  . .  Killed  a  badger  . . .  Killed  a 
wolf  . . .  Corn  half  destroyed  by  black 
birds  . . .  Set  out  shade  trees  .  . .  Took 
up  a  bee-tree  to  hive  for  honey . . . 
Hunted  deer. 

1837.  Made    a    ditching    machine  . . .  Hunted 

panther .  . .  Made  a  chest  of  drawers 
. . .  Went  to  a  bridge-raising. 

1838.  Made  a  back-kitchen  . . .  Hewed  timber 

for  a  barn . . .  Made  a  wagon  .  .  .  Made 

a   cheese-press . .  .  Sister   Harriet   died 

. . .  Made  a  coffin  for  Sister  Harriet 

. . .  Attended  Sister  Harriet's  funeral. 

When,  on  May  15,  1837,  Elbridge  G.  Fifield  27  joined  a 
party  of  eleven  persons,  bound  from  Vermont  for  the  Rock 
River  valley,  in  Wisconsin  Territory,  they  chose  a  route 
similar  to  that  taken  by  Mr.  Conant. 

The  party  traveled  by  stage  to  Burlington,  Vermont,  and 
then  went  by  steamer  to  Whitehall,  New  York.  They  took 
line-boats  on  the  Northern  Canal  to  Troy,  and  on  the  Erie 
Canal  to  Buffalo;  thence  they  went  by  steamer  to  Detroit. 
As  it  was  impossible  to  secure  passage  from  Detroit  to 
Chicago,  a  wagon  was  hired  to  take  the  women  and  chil 
dren  across  Michigan  to  St.  Joseph.  The  men  walked. 

From  St.  Joseph  a  small  sailing  vessel  was  taken  for 
Chicago.  There  they  stopped  at  the  best  hotel  to  be  found ; 
the  women  had  beds,  but  the  men  slept  on  the  floor,  on 
Indian  blankets. 

They  arrived  in  Milwaukee  twenty-six  days  after  leaving 
Vermont,  the  last  stage  of  the  journey  being  made  by 
schooner. 


170         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Mr.  Fifield  started  at  once  into  the  interior  to  a  sawmill 
where  he  hoped  to  find  work.  Following  the  blazed  trail 
and  the  wagon  track,  he  went  through  the  Milwaukee  woods 
to  Prairie  Village  (now  Waukesha)  where  was  a  solitary 
double  log-house.  He  found  a  house  one  mile  farther  along 
the  road,  but  learned  that  there  was  not  another  habitation 
for  thirty  miles. 

He  had  not  advanced  far  along  the  thirty  mile  stretch 
when  a  man  on  horseback  overtook  him  and  proposed  that 
they  play  the  game  called  "ride-and-tie."  "You  take  the 
pony,  and  put  him  through  on  a  canter  for  a  mile  or  so, 
then  tie,  and  walk  on,"  the  explanation  was  made.  "I  will 
do  the  same,  overtaking  and  passing  you."  The  game  was 
played  throughout  the  journey. 

At  the  sawmill  he  was  employed  to  drive  a  four-ox-team. 
Thus  he  was  much  relieved,  for  he  had  left  but  $2.50  of  the 
$42  he  had  borrowed  in  Vermont  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
the  trip. 

During  the  summer  he  made  a  claim  on  the  bank  of  Rock 
river.  In  December,  1837,  he  took  an  ax,  a  ham  and  a 
blanket,  walked  to  his  claim,  and  began  to  make  the  im 
provements  necessary  to  hold  the  land  until  spring.  For 
four  weeks  he  chopped  timber,  split  rails  and  built  fences. 
Then  he  returned  to  work  at  the  sawmill. 

During  the  winter  he  picked  enough  cattail  flags  to  make 
a  bed,  caught  and  salted  a  keg  of  fish,  bought  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  and  prepared  to  work  the  claim  in  the  spring.  In 
April,  1838,  he  borrowed  the  hind  wheels  of  a  wagon,  put 
in  a  temporary  tongue  and  box,  loaded  his  shanty  outfit, 
drove  along  the  river,  ferrying  across  twice,  cut  his  own 
three-mile  road  through  the  timber,  and  reached  his  claim. 
The  next  day  he  took  the  borrowed  wagon  back  down  the 
river,  and  immediately  returned  to  his  land.  There  he 
cleared  two  acres,  made  a  harrow  with  wooden  teeth,  and 
planted  the  land  with  corn  and  potatoes. 

At  this  period  transportation  on  the  Wisconsin  river 
was  by  the  Durham  boats,  similar  to  those  used  on  the  Dela- 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  171 

ware  and  Susquehanna  rivers.28  This  was  a  curious  cata 
maran  of  from  fifty-five  to  sixty  feet  in  length,  ten  to 
twelve  feet  beam,  two  and  one-half  feet  deep,  drawing  eigh 
teen  to  twenty  inches,  and  carrying  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  tons  of  freight. 

The  steering  oar  was  hewn  from  a  pine  tree  twenty  feet 
long,  and  its  blade  was  twelve  inches  wide  and  three  or 
four  feet  long.  The  chief  propelling  power  was  the  socket 
pole,  handled  by  a  strong  man.  This  was  made  of  ash, 
fifteen  feet  long.  At  the  top  was  a  button,  designed  to  give 
the  pressure  on  the  shoulder  of  the  strong  man. 

One  day,  when  he  was  an  old  man,  William  Powell  told 
the  Secretary  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  of  a 
sample  trip  with  one  of  these  boats. 

Seven  men  compose  my  crew,  for  my  boat  is  large  and 
heavily  loaded.  Six  is  the  ordinary  crew,  besides  the  cap 
tain  or  steersman.  A  three  mile  gait  of  the  poleman  moves 
the  boat  at  each  set  a  little  more  than  its  length,  which 
gives,  in  ordinary  water,  a  speed  of  over  three  miles  an 
hour. 

It  requires  as  much  skill  and  tact  to  handle  the  pole  and 
get  all  there  is  in  it  of  force  as  a  propeller,  as  to  use  the  car. 
Notice  how  the  men  set  and  handle  the  pole — those  on  the 
left  side  of  the  boat  grasp  this  with  the  right  hand  just 
below  the  button  (the  socket  being  in  the  water),  and  with 
a  twist  of  the  wrist  and  the  help  of  the  right  knee  the  pole 
is  thrown  into  the  right  position.  The  button  is  then 
brought  to  the  shoulder  and  the  force  applied.  This  is 
done  so  quickly  and  deftly  that  it  seems  like  one  motion. 
Upon  reaching  the  stern  of  the  walk-board  the  poleman 
quickly  rises,  gives  the  pole  a  twist  to  disengage  it  from  the 
bottom,  and  at  the  same  time  turns  and  grasps  it  with  his 
left  hand,  walks  to  the  bow,  and  sets  again.  They  must  all 
set  together  and  at  the  same  time.  The  disengaged  hand  is 
always  ready  to  grasp  anything  in  its  reach,  either  to  in 
crease  the  force  of  the  push,  or  to  save  oneself  from  going 
overboard  if  the  pole  should  slip  on  the  bottom. 


ITS         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Along  the  shore  were  the  claims  of^the  first  settlers: 

They  are  from  two  to  five  or  six  acres  wide,  and  extend 
back  from  the  river  eighty  acres  or  more.  Their  owners 
have  cleared  and  cultivated  just  enough  to  supply  their 
present  wants,  leaving  the  original  forest  on  either  side.  All 
that  each  Frenchman  wanted  was  a  narrow  strip  of  land  on 
the  river  front,  where  he  could  catch  his  fish  (which  he 
called  his  pork  barrel),  and  the  forest  behind  for  wood  and 
timber.  As  he  cleared  land  he  raised  potatoes,  wheat,  oats 
and  other  grain,  while  with  gun  and  rod  he  supplied  the  rest 
of  his  provender  whether  of  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl. 

The  route  taken  by  Sarah  Foote,  pioneer  of  1846,  from 
Ohio  to  Wisconsin,  was  by  road  through  Southern  Michigan 
and  Northern  Indiana,  as  she  indicated  in  her  journal.29  Of 
the  start  she  said : 

April  14,  1846.  The  last  night  for  us  in  our  old  home  in 
Wellington,  Ohio,  for  all  our  things  are  packed,  and  all  but 
what  we  most  need  have  been  sent  on  by  water  to  Mil 
waukee.  The  rest  of  the  things  nearly  fill  a  large  wagon. 
Father,  mother,  Mary,  Sarah,  Orlena,  Alvin  and  Lucy  are 
to  ride  in  the  family  buggy. 

The  experiences  of  the  first  day  or  two  were  pleasant. 
Then  there  was  a  halt  at  a  wayside  blacksmith  shop  to  set 
a  loose  wagon  tire.  Two  or  three  miles  farther  on  the 
women  were  asked  to  leave  the  buggy,  as  the  reach  was 
broken.  So  we  called  to  Alvin  to  bring  the  axe,  and  while 
we  girls  and  mother  walked  on,  they  fixed  the  buggy  good 
and  strong  with  sticks  that  they  cut,  and  a  rope  from  the 
wagon. 

Soon  after  crossing  the  line  into  Michigan  the  party  came 
to  a  great  swamp.  We  all  walked  most  of  the  time,  for 
the  travelling  was  so  hard  for  the  horses  that  we  had  to 
stop  and  rest  them  very  often.  The  swamp  was  only  five 
miles  in  length,  but  we  were  nearly  all  the  afternoon  getting 
through. 

Two  days  later  one  of  the  wagon  wheels  showed  signs  of 
collapse.  It  had  already  turned  inside  out,  yet  we  were  in 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  173 

hopes  to  reach  Chicago  turnpike  before  it  gave  out.  But 
about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  smashed  down  flat, 
and  there  we  were  in  the  road  with  the  only  building  in 
sight,  an  old  school-house.  So  here  we  concluded  to  stay 
over  night  while  Father  went  on  with  the  broken  wheel  and 
buggy  to  find  a  wagonmaker.  We  found  an  old  stone  fire 
place  in  the  schoolhouse  and  in  this  we  cooked  our  supper, 
and  spread  it  out  on  the  high  benches  for  tables,  using  the 
low  ones  for  seats. 

Soon  the  travelers  rode  for  dreary  miles  through  the 
sand  hills,  and  longed  for  a  sight  of  the  lake  whose  waters 
they  could  hear.  They  did  not  pass  through  Chicago,  but 
went  to  the  west  of  the  young  city. 

Several  times  during  the  journey  they  fell  in  with  other 
movers,  who  wished  to  keep  them  company.  But  they  out- 
traveled  the  first  company,  and  the  second  company  out- 
traveled  them,  for  just  after  joining  them  they  traded  their 
horses  for  oxen,  which  would  be  of  more  use  to  them  in  the 
new  home. 

After  miring  in  mud  holes,  slipping  through  the  loose 
planks  of  a  bridge,  losing  themselves  in  the  forest  at  night, 
enduring  the  jolting  caused  by  the  desire  of  the  buggy 
horses  to  jump  across  creeks  rather  than  walk  through  the 
water,  they  reached  Rush  Lake,  their  journey's  end.  Next 
day  they  were  comfortably  fixed  in  a  log  house,  sixteen  by 
fourteen  feet,  "ready  to  begin  life  in  the  woods." 

Those  who  write  pioneer  records  of  Wisconsin  like  to 
tell  of  Count  Agoston  Haraszthy,  who  left  Hungary  for 
America  in  1840.  It  was  his  intention  to  go  to  Florida, 
but  on  shipboard  he  became  acquainted  with  a  German  im 
migrant,  bound  for  the  Northwest.  He  agreed  to  accom 
pany  the  German  to  Wisconsin.30 

From  New  York  they  went  to  Albany,  then  by  Erie 
Canal  to  Buffalo,  and  by  steamer  to  Milwaukee.  In  Mil 
waukee  the  Hungarian  bought  three  horses  and  secured  an 
interpreter.  With  a  plat  of  the  land  in  hand,  the  men  found 
their  way  to  a  point  near  Rock  river,  and  built  a  log  house 


174.         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

and  a  shed.  Here  they  set  up  housekeeping  as  soon  as  their 
goods  arrived  from  Milwaukee.  An  ox-team  and  some  ma 
chinery  were  bought.  The  principal  thing  done  that  sum 
mer  was  to  cut  on  the  marshes  a  winter's  supply  of  hay  for 
the  cattle.  Their  experiment  at  homemaking  had  a  sad  con 
clusion  : 

The  region  in  which  they  settled  has  long  been  famous 
for  soil  fertility  and  also  as  a  breeding-place  for  a  great 
variety  of  mosquitoes.  It  seems  that  they  were  very  trouble 
some  of  nights,  and  in  that  early  day  there  was  no  available 
means  for  protection  from  their  ravages.  The  pioneers 
suffered,  and  on  a  particular  night  a  fire  was  kindled  to 
smudge  the  pest  back  to  its  native  heath  in  the  adjacent 
marsh.  But  the  mosquitoes  were  persistent,  and  in  despera 
tion  Haraszthy  took  a  wisp  of  dry  hay,  and  lighting  it, 
swung  the  torch  about.  A  spark  lit  in  the  hay  shed.  In  a 
moment  the  visible  product  of  the  days  of  toil  on  the  wild- 
hay  marsh  was  in  flames.  Several  loaded  pistols  and 
double-barrelled  guns  had  been  deposited  on  the  hay,  and 
a  keg  of  powder  had  been  placed  there  to  avoid  the  sparks 
that  were  inevitable  in  a  cabin  of  primitive  construction 
and  household  operations.  The  adventurers  ran  for  their 
lives;  the  flames  made  a  clean  sweep  of  the  permanent  im 
provements;  the  guns,  pistols  and  powder  keg  performed 
their  functions  in  due  time.  But  the  horses  and  oxen  were 
unscathed,  and  with  these  the  pioneer  set  off  to  the  west 
ward  ...  It  is  said  that  about  the  time  of  the  fire 
catastrophe  they  learned  that  they  were  trespassers  on  the 
land  they  had  occupied  for  a  few  months.  The  land-office 
had  erred  in  the  plat,  for  the  tract  had  been  entered  by 
others  the  previous  year. 

At  length  they  found  their  way  to  the  bluffs  of  the  Wis 
consin  river,  where  Haraszthy,  after  a  long,  hungry  look, 
shouted:  "Eureka!  Eureka!  Italia!  Italia!" 

Land  was  bought  along  the  river  and  a  log  house  was 
built.  Later,  in  partnership  with  an  Englishman  Haraszthy 
bought  the  land  on  which  the  present  Sauk  City  is  built. 
Jhe  place  was  at  first  called  Haraszthy. 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  175 

On  June  23,  1841,  a  frontier  itinerant  preacher  wrote  in 
his  journal : 

There  is  here  a  Hungarian  Count — so  he  calls  himself — • 
who  claims  to  have  large  quantities  of  money,  and  is  ex 
pending  it  liberally  in  improvements.  There  is  also  an 
Englishman  who  claims  to  have  been  a  Lord  in  the  old 
country.  He  is  in  partnership  with  the  Count.  They  both 
look  like  savages,  wearing  a  long  beard  above  as  well  as 
below  the  mouth.  And  they  are  the  great  men  of  the  place, 
and  others  adopt  their  customs,  and  make  themselves  as 
ridiculous  as  possible. 

Until  1848  the  Hungarian  Count  prospered  in  Sauk  City, 
but  the  day  came  when  the  restlessness  so  characteristic  of 
the  early  emigrant  led  him  to  pick  up  stakes  and  go  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  He  would  have  appreciated  the  answer  give'n 
by  another  Wisconsin  man  to  the  question,  "Where  is  the 
West?"  "The  West  is  where  you  are;  the  East  is  where 
your  folks  lived." 

By  his  removal  to  California  at  a  time  when  his  business 
ventures  in  Wisconsin  were  prospering  greatly,  Haraszthy 
showed  that  he  was  one  of  the  restless  thousands  of  whom 
the  Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Census  said,  in  his 
report  for  December  i,  1852: 

The  people  are  somewhat  nomadic  in  character  .  .  .  and 
so  strong  is  their  passion  for  motion  that  the  West  itself 
supplies  a  population  to  the  still  farther  West.  Ohio  sends 
215,000  to  the  three  states  beyond  her;  Indiana  attracts 
120,000  from  Ohio,  but  sends  on  50,000  of  her  own;  Illinois 
takes  95,000  from  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  gives  7000  to 
young  Iowa;  and  that  state,  though  not  twenty  years  re 
deemed  from  the  Indians,  gains  nearly  60,000  by  the  rest 
lessness  of  the  three,  and,  in  its  turn,  breaks  over  the  too 
feeble  barriers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  supply  Utah 
and  Oregon  with  1200  natives  of  Iowa. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  century  emigrants  bound 
for  regions  beyond  the  Mississippi  were  accustomed  to  make 


176        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

use  of  river  steamers,  but  during  the  thirties  many  crossed 
northern  Illinois  and  went  from  there  into  Iowa. 

One  who  knew  well  the  roads  of  Indiana  and  Illinois 
during  the  years  1836  and  1837,  has  told  what  he  saw :  31 

The  roads  would  be  literally  lined  with  the  long  blue 
wagons  of  the  emigrant  slowly  winding  their  way  over  the 
broad  prairies — the  cattle  and  hogs,  men  and  dogs,  and 
frequently  women  and  children  forming  the  rear  of  the  van 
— often  ten,  twenty  and  thirty  wagons  in  company.  Ask 
them,  when  and  where  you  would,  their  destination  was  the 
Black  Hawk  Purchase. 

I  well  remember  one  evening  in  1836  crossing  the  Mili 
tary  Tract  in  Illinois.  ...  I  encountered  a  settler  camped 
for  the  night,  as  I  turned  the  short  angle  of  a  neighboring 
thicket.  The  old  lady  had  just  built  her  camp  fire,  and  was 
busily  engaged  in  frying  prairie  chickens  which  the  unerring 
rifle  of  her  boy  had  brought  to  the  ground ;  one  of  the  girls 
was  milking  a  brindle  cow,  and  that  tall  girl  yonder,  with 
swarthy  arms  and  yellow  sunbonnet,  was  nailing  the  coffee- 
mill  on  the  side  of  a  scrub  oak  which  the  little  boy  had 
"blazed"  out  with  his  hatchet.  There  sat  the  old  man  on  a 
log,  quietly  shaving  himself  by  a  six-penny  looking-glass, 
which  he  had  tacked  to  a  neighboring  tree.  And  yonder  old 
decrepit  man,  sitting  on  the  low  rush-bottomed  chair,  was 
the  aged  grand-sire  of  all;  better  that  his  bones  be  left  by 
the  wayside  than  that  he  be  left  alone  among  strangers.  He 
sat  quietly  smoking  his  pipe^  with  all  the  serenity  of  a 
patriarch.  This  is  Emigrating:  'Tis  not  going  away  from 
home;  the  home  was  there,  that  night,  with  the  settlers  on 
Camp  Creek,  under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven,  by  that 
gurgling  brook  where  the  cattle  browsed,  the  dogs  barked, 
and  the  children  quietly  slumbered. 

The  settlement  of  Iowa  did  not  begin  until  1833,  the  first 
purchase  of  land  from  the  Indians  having  been  made  in 
1832.  Further  purchases  were  made  in  1836,  1837  and 
1842.  These  fertile  lands  attracted  so  many  emigrants 
that  in  May,  1839,  the  settlers  were  encouraged  to  found 


FROM  NEW  YORE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  177 

Iowa  City,  the  capital  of  the  territory  so  recently  held  by 
the  Indians. 

The  news  of  the  founding  of  the  capital  sped  to  the  east, 
and  in  those  days  before  the  California  rush,  Iowa  became 
the  westward  point  of  the  homeseeker  and  the  fortune 
hunter.32  Some  came  to  speculate,  others  to  stay.  In  the 
first  bright  summer,  some  slept  under  the  trees  of  the  forest 
with  slumbers  J>roken  by  the  wolf's  long  howl,  others  dwelt 
in  tents,  and  as  cabins  were  erected  the  floors  were  covered 
at  night  with  the  tired  pioneers  who  sought  refuge  from  the 
chilly  air.  Old  "Leanback  Hall"  was  built  of  logs  cut  from 
the  city  plot,  and,  tradition  says,  was  furnished  with  a  single 
bed,  large  enough  to  accommodate  thirty-six  men.  Many 
of  the  first  settlers  were  from  Ohio,  and  by  instinct  took  to 
the  woods,  leaving  the  broad  open  prairies  for  later  comers. 

The  first  emigrants  had  to  "pass  through  thickets  and 
tangles  of  slough-grass,  winding  over  prairies  brilliant  with 
rich-hued  blossoms  and  fording  bridgeless  streams.'*  Old 
Indian  trails  or  the  haphazard  ox-wagon  track  were  the 
best  that  could  be  found.  But  better  roads  were  coming, 
for  "Iowa's  first  delegate  to  Congress,  driving  by  post  stage 
from  his  corn  field  near  Burlington  to  the  national  capital, 
secured  an  appropriation  for  the  opening  of  a  military  road 
from  Dubuque  to  Iowa  City,  which  became  the  highway  of 
travel  to  the  interior." 

The  first  settlers  of  Iowa  naturally  desired  to  attract  to 
their  neighborhood  as  many  settlers  as  possible  of  the  most 
promising  kind.  Among  the  efforts  to  do  this  was  the  pub 
lication  iu  1846  of  a  little  book  33  calculated  to  make  more 
acute  the  longing  of  the  settlers  to  go  to  Iowa,  or  to  awaken 
the  desire  for  the  venture  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  had 
not  begun  to  feel  the  call  of  the  prairies.  In  this  volume  a 
section  was  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  "Persons  Best  Quali 
fied  to  Emigrate." 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  some  descriptions  of  emigrants 
will  succeed  better  in  a  new  country  than  others.  Those 


178        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

who  have  been  accustomed  to  a  country  life  and  to  the  labor 
of  a  farm  are,  of  course,  better  fitted  to  cultivate  land  and 
endure  hardships,  at  first  attendant  upon  a  residence  in  a 
frontier  country,  than  artisans,  traders  and  people  whose 
habits  of  life  have  become  somewhat  delicate  by  a  long 
residence  in  cities  and  work-shops.  But  every  individual 
who  to  health  and  vigor  of  manhood  joins  perseverance 
and  industry  will  ultimately  prosper.  Mechanics  of  all 
kinds  cannot  fail  to  do  well  in  Iowa,  for  when  not  em 
ployed  in  cultivating  their  farms  (if  they  choose  to  make 
one)  they  will  find  it  quite  easy  and  convenient  to  earn  a 
little  money  by  working  at  their  various  trades;  they  will 
likewise  have  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  improve  their 
dwellings  and  repair  their  farming  utensils,  without  ex 
pense.  Married  persons  are  generally  more  comfortable 
and  succeed  better  in  a  frontier  country  than  single  men, 
for  a  wife  and  family,  so  far  from  being  a  burden  to  a 
western  farmer,  may  always  form  a  source  of  pecuniary 
advantage  in  the  domestic  economy  of  his  household,  in 
dependently  of  heightening  the  enjoyments  of  domestic 
happiness.  .  .  . 

Many  is  the  wife,  whose  cheerful  countenance  now  glad 
dens  the  fireside  of  the  "Iowa  farmer,"  that  once  beamed 
brightly  in  the  gay  saloons  of  the  crowded  city.  ...  In  fine, 
it  must  be  the  settler's  own  fault  if  he  does  not  enjoy,  in 
large  abundance,  every  substantial  comfort  and  enjoyment 
of  life,  and  see  around  his  frugal  board  all  the  choice  bless 
ings  of  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

But  many  of  the  emigrants  who  in  later  years  came  as 
far  as  the  border  of  Iowa  turned  north  instead  of  going 
west.  Across  Illinois  and  Missouri  they  came  to  Rock 
Island,  Dunleith  (or  Galena),  and  Prairie  du  Chien,  and 
from  one  of  these  points  took  steamer  up  the  Mississippi 
to  make  their  homes  in  northern  Wisconsin  or  Minnesota. 
In  1858,  six  years  after  21,000,000  acres  acquired  from  the 
Dakotas  were  thrown  open  for  settlement,  Minnesota  was 
admitted  to  the  Union;  Wisconsin  reached  the  dignity  of 
statehood  ten  years  earlier. 


FROM  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND  179 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  IV 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "Ohio  as  a  Hospitable  Wilderness,"  p.  527. 

2.  "History  of  the  Holland  Purchase,"  p.  323. 

3.  Ibid.,  p.  470. 

4.  "Between  Albany  and  Buffalo,"  p.  309. 

5.  "A   Retrospect  of   Western   Travel,"  Vol.   I,  p.  29. 

6.  "Between  Albany  and  Buffalo,"  p.  407. 

7.  "Travels  on  an  Inland  Voyage,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  2,  15. 

8.  "The  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Western  Reserve,"  p.  15. 

9.  "Ohio  and  Her  Western  Reserve,"  p.  219. 

10.  "A  Letter  Addressed  to  the  People  of  Maryland." 

11.  "Ohio  as  a  Hospitable  Wilderness,"  p.  527. 

12.  "Real  Stories   from  Our  History,"  p.  237. 

13.  "Commerce  of  the  Lakes,"  p.  6. 

14.  "Considerations   of   the  Great  Western   Canal,"  p.   19. 

15.  "The  Erie  Canal  and  the  Settlement  of  the  West,"  p.  198. 

16.  "Journal  of  a  Tour  from  Albany  to  Lake  Erie,"  p.  279. 

17.  "Travels  in  North  America  in  the  Years  1827  and  1828,"  Vol.  I, 

p.  66. 

18.  "Journal  of  a  Tour  to  Niagara  in  1827,"  pp.  226,  237,  264. 

19.  "A  Trip  to  Niagara  in  1835,"  p.  332. 

20.  "A  Retrospect  of  Western  Travel." 

21.  "Report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  New  York  Legislature," 

1849. 

22.  "Experiences  of  Prairie  Life  in  the  Early  Settlements  and  Cities 

of  the  West,"  p.  8. 

23.  "History  of  Ashland  County,  Ohio,"  p.  27. 

24.  "Personal  Recollections  of  Early  Days,"  p.  345. 

25.  "The  Settlement  of  Clinton  County,"  p.  360. 

26.  " Augustus  Conant,"  p.  116. 

27.  "Some    Pioneer    Experiences   in   Jefferson    County,"   p.    134. 

28.  "Pioneers  and  Durham  Boats  on  Fox  River,"  p.  187. 

29.  "A  Wagon  Journey  from  Ohio  to  Missouri  in  1846,"  p.  188. 

30.  "Agoston   Haraszthy,"  p.  224. 

31.  "A  Glimpse  of  Iowa  in  1846,"  p.  12. 

32.  "The  Historic  Capital  of  Iowa,"  p.  444. 

33.  "A  Glimpse  of  Iowa  in  1846,"  p.  62. 


CHAPTER  FIVE:  THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL 

It  wound  through  strange  scarred  hills,  down  canons  lone 

Where  wild  things  screamed,  with  winds  for  company; 

Its  milestones  were  the  bones  of  pioneers, 

Bronzed,  haggard  men,  often  with  thirst  a-moan, 

Lashed  on  their  beasts  of  burden  toward  the  sea : 

An  epic  quest  it  was  of  elder  years, 

For  fabled  garden  or  for  good,  red  gold, 

The  trail  men  strove  in  days  of  iron  to  hold. 

To-day  the  steam  god  thunders  through  the  vast, 

While  dominant  Saxons  from  the  hurtling  trains 

Smile  at  the  aliens,  Mexic,  Indian, 

Who  offer  wares,  sun-colored,  like  their  past ; 

Dread  dramas  of  immitigable  plains 

Rebuke  the  softness  of  the  modern  man ; 

No  menace,  now,  the  desert's  mood  of  sand; 

Still  westward  lies  a  green  and  golden  land, 

For  at  the  magic  touch  of  water  blooms 

The  wilderness,  and  where  of  yore  the  yoke 

Tortured  the  toilers  into  dateless  tombs, 

Lo!  brightsome  fruits,  to  feed  a  mighty  folk. 

— RICHARD  BURTON. 


I.    THE  LURE  OF  GAIN 

Two  days  had  the  train  been  waiting, 
Laid  off  from  the  forward  tramp, 

When  the  sick  child  drooped 

And  died,  and  they  scooped 
Out  a  little  grave  near  camp. 

Outside  of  civilization, 

Far  from  the  abodes  of  men, 

Where  the  cactus  blows 

And  the  wild  sage  grows, 
In  the  haunts  of  the  wild  sage  hen. 

No  trace  in  range  of  the  vision, 
No  beautiful  flowers  bloom, 

But  a  waste  of  sand, 

In  a  desert  land, 
Surrounds  the  little  tomb. 

— John  Krayshaw  Kaye. 

IN  1800  Santa  Fe,  Mexico,  had  a  population  of  about 
four  thousand.  A  town  of  that  size  presents  attractions  to 
ambitious  traders,  especially  if — as  was  true  in  this  case — • 
the  merchants  who  have  had  a  monopoly  of  the  business  of 
the  community  are  taking  advantage  of  the  people  by  asking 
exorbitant  rates  for  inferior  goods. 

Evidently  the  Mexican  traders  who  took  goods  from  the 
south  to  Santa  Fe  did  not  give  a  thought  to  the  possibility 
of  competition  from  the  United  States.  So  they  were  taken 
by  surprise  when,  in  1812,*  McKnight,  Beard,  Chambers 
and  others,  in  all  about  a  dozen,  appeared  in  Santa  Fe,  after 
a  tedious  trip  along  the  route  which  Spanish  explorers  had 
taken  in  the  sixteenth  century,  which  American  trappers 
had  also  chosen  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

*This  date  is  given  in  "Commerce  of  the  Prairies,"  though  "The 
Old  Santa  Fe  Trail"  says  the  trip  was  made  in  1815. 

183 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS- 

At  once  they  were  arrested  on  suspicion,  the  merchandise 
they  had  brought  with  them  was  confiscated,  and  they  were 
thrust  into  prison.  There  they  languished  for  nine  years. 

In  1821  Beard  and  Chambers  made  their  way  back  to 
the  United  States  in  a  canoe,  by  way  of  the  Canadian  Fork 
of  the  Arkansas  river.  The  story  of  their  adventures  led 
an  Ohio  merchant  named  Glenn  to  make  an  expedition  to 
Santa  Fe,  in  1821. 

Beard  and  Chambers,  after  securing  financial  backing, 
ventured  a  second  trip.  This  time  the  difficulties  came  al 
most  at  once.  They  were  delayed,  and  were  overtaken  by 
winter.  It  was  necessary  to  spend  three  months  on  an 
island,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  town  of  Cimarron. 
During  the  winter  part  of  the  pack  animals  were  lost  by 
starvation  and  cold.  As  soon  as  it  was  possible  to  travel, 
they  cached  their  goods  and  went  to  Taos,  where  they 
bought  mules.  With  these  they  returned  to  the  island, 
opened  the  cache,  loaded  the  merchandise,  and  proceeded  to 
Santa  Fe. 

Another  expedition  of  1821  was  that  of  Captain  Beck- 
well,  who  led  four  others  by  the  western  prairie  route  to 
Santa  Fe.  In  1822  he  made  a  second  trip  with  thirty  men 
and  $5000  worth  of  merchandise.  The  leader  decided  to 
take  a  more  direct  route  than  had  as  yet  been  attempted. 
His  only  guide  was  a  compass. 

Soon  water  gave  out,  and  food  became  scarce.  Dogs 
were  killed  for  food.  The  men  were  nearly  exhausted  by 
thirst  when  a  buffalo  was  killed.  The  stomach  of  the 
animal  was  full  of  water,  and  this  saved  the  travelers.  One 
of  the  company  afterward  declared  that  the  draught  from 
the  stomach  was  the  sweetest  drink  he  had  ever  tasted. 
Their  strength  having  been  renewed  in  this  unexpected 
manner,  a  number  of  the  men  were  able  to  reach  the  Arkan 
sas  river,  where  they  filled  their  canteens.  The  remainder  of 
the  journey  to  Taos  and  Santa  Fe  was  without  incident. 

These  early  companies  had  pack  animals,  but  in  1824  a 
party  of  some  eighty  travelers  employed  twenty-five  wheeled 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  185 

vehicles  as  well  as  pack  mules.  The  journey  was  accom 
plished  with  comparative  ease.  "The  road,  indeed,  appears 
to  have  presented  fewer  obstacles  than  any  ordinary  road 
of  equal  length  in  the  United  States."  * 

This  successful  journey  by  wagon  was  an  argument  in 
favor  of  Thomas  H.  Benton's  proposal,  made1  to  Congress 
in  1824,  that  a  road  be  built  from  the  Missouri  to  Santa  Fe. 
The  road  was  surveyed  in  1825  and  1826,  and  was  found 
to  be  775  miles  in  length.  Thus  was  completed  the  route 
from  the  Mississippi  to  Santa  Fe,  the  first  stage  of  which 
was  Boone's  Lick,  from  St.  Charles  to  Franklin,  the  road 
over  which  marched  many  of  the  early  emigrants  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  Before  long,  wagons  manufactured  in 
Pittsburg  became  the  favorite  means  of  transport  on  the 
trail.  These  were  ' 'usually  drawn  by  eight  mules  or  the 
same  number  of  oxen."  Before  many  years  even  heavier 
wagons  were  introduced,  these  being  drawn  by  ten  or  twelve 
mules. 

In  1829  oxen  were  first  employed  on  the  road,  and  to  the 
surprise  of  the  traders  they  were  found  to  do  work  equal 
to  the  mules.  Within  a  year  or  two  perhaps  one-half  of  the 
wagons  were  drawn  by  oxen. 

At  first  the  Indians  paid  little  attention  to  the  caravans, 
but  aggressions  by  the  traders,  the  opening  of  the  trail  by 
the  government,  and  aroused  cupidity  were  responsible  for 
the  beginning  of  serious  aggression.  Caravans  were  at 
tacked,  goods  were  seized  and  men  were  killed. 

In  1828  a  caravan  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  mules  and 
horses  and  five  wagons,  carrying  a  large  amount  of  silver 
coin,  was  stopped  at  Upper  Cimarron  Springs  by  Co- 
manches.  There  was  no  escape,  except  by  boldly  riding 
through  the  camp.  "Assuming  the  bravest  look  possible, 
and  keeping  our  rifles  in  position  for  immediate  action,  we 
started  on  the  perilous  venture.2  The  chief  met  us  with  a 
smile  of  welcome,  and  said,  in  Spanish,  'You  must  stay 
with  us  to-night.  Our  young  men  will  guard  your  stock, 
and  we  have  plenty  of  buffalo  meat/  " 


186         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS    - 

The  traders  tried  to  escape,  but  the  Indians  seized  their 
bridle  reins  and  began  to  fire  on  them,  yet  most  of  the  com 
pany  succeeded  in  getting  away.  "We  succeeded  in  fighting 
them  off  until  we  had  left  the  camp  half  a  mile  behind," 
the  writer  of  the  account  continued,  "and  as  darkness  had 
settled  down  on  us,  we  decided  to  go  into  camp  ourselves. 
We  tied  our  gray  bell-mare  to  a  stake,  and  went  out  and 
jingled  the  bell,  whenever  any  of  us  could  do  so,  thus  keep 
ing  the  animals  from  stampeding.  We  corralled  our 
wagons  for  better  protection,  and  the  Indians  kept  us  busy 
all  night,  resisting  their  furious  charges/' 

Next  day  five  miles  were  made,  though  the  fight  with  the 
Indians  was  continuous.  Four  days  passed  in  the  same 
way,  until  the  traders  were  almost  exhausted  for  lack  of 
sleep.  Then  came  a  night  attack,  when  the  horses  and 
mules  were  stampeded,  and  every  animal  was  lost. 

It  was  decided  to  abandon  the  wagons  and  silver,  and 
to  seek  safety  in  flight.  Taking  as  much  of  the  silver  as 
they  could  carry,  the  survivors  stole  from  the  camp.  For 
two  days  and  nights  they  traveled  on.  When  they  were 
weak  from  loss  of  food  they  buried  the  silver  on  a  small 
island  in  the  Arkansas  river.  Fortunately  they  shot  a 
buffalo  and  an  antelope  and  ate  a  hearty  meal,  though  with 
out  salt. 

A  few  days  later  they  found  the  Trail,  from  which  they 
had  wandered.  They  were  nearly  exhausted  from  exposure 
and  loss  of  sleep,  so  they  decided  to  send  five  of  the  party 
for  help  to  Independence. 

The  two  hundred  mile  journey  of  the  relief  party  was 
most  difficult.  The  weather  was  cold,  and  the  men  had 
little  clothing  and  no  blankets.  Their  feet  were  partially 
bare,  and  bloodmarks  stained  the  Trail.  Deafness  and  thirst 
added  to  their  misery.  Several  were  ready  to  give  up,  when 
muddy  water  was  found.  At  last  they  reached  a  cabin  fifty 
miles  from  Independence  where  some  women  were  cooking 
pumpkin.  This  was  eaten  ravenously. 

"We  had  subsisted  for  eleven  days  on  one  turkey,  a  coon, 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  187 

a  crow,  and  some  elm  bark,  with  an  occasional  bunch  of 
wild  grapes,  and  the  picture  we  presented  to  these  good  peo 
ple  they  will  probably  never  forget,'*  the  story  of  the  escape 
continued.  "We  had  not  tasted  bread  or  salt  for  thirty- 
two  days." 

Next  day  Independence  was  reached,  and  seven  men  sent 
back  on  the  trail  for  the  relief  of  the  remainder  of  the  party. 
The  men  were  found  just  in  time  to  save  them  from  starva 
tion.  Their  exhaustion  is  apparent  from  the  statement  that 
not  more  than  two  of  them  were  found  together.  Two 
were  found  one  hundred  miles  from  Independence;  the 
others  were  scattered  along  the  Trail  for  fifty  miles. 

With  an  escort  of  soldiers,  the  leaders  of  the  caravan  re 
turned  to  the  island  where  the  silver  had  been  buried.  The 
coin  was  found  exposed,  for  the  water  had  washed  the 
earth  away.  But  no  one  had  seen  the  treasure,  for  no  one 
had  passed  that  way. 

In  1829,  in  response  to  an  appeal  for  protection,  three 
troops  of  United  States  infantry  were  provided  as  an  escort 
for  a  caravan  from  Franklin,  Missouri,  to  the  Mexican 
border,  on  the  Arkansas.  All  was  quiet  until  the  company 
was  within  a  few  miles  of  the  boundary.  Then  there  was 
a  sharp  skirmish  with  the  Comanches. 

In  1842  the  Trail  was  the  scene  of  further  military  ex 
ploits.  In  that  year  a  company  of  Texans  went  toward 
Santa  Fe  to  rob  caravans  going  from  the  United  States 
to  Mexico.  Their  activity  called  out  the  soldiers  once 
more. 

From  that  day  until  1846,  when  the  Army  of  the  West 
went  over  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  for  the  conquest  of  New 
Mexico,  there  was  an  interruption  in  the  activity  of  the 
traders.  In  1843  President  Santa  Anna  ordered  that  the 
frontier  custom  house  should  be  closed  to  commerce.  But 
this  restriction  was  removed  when  the  territory  passed  to 
the  control  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  twenty-two  years  before  Santa  Anna's  em 
bargo  the  trade  on  the  Trail  became  quite  large.  In  1822 


188         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS  ' 

$15,000  worth  of  goods  was  carried  by  seventy  men;  in 
1824  the  amount  of  the  traffic  was  $35,000,  while  one  hun 
dred  men  and  twenty-six  wagons  were  engaged;  in  1825 
'  the  value  of  the  goods  carried  increased  to  $65,000,  while 
one  hundred  and  thirty  men  and  thirty-seven  wagons  were 
employed;  in  1828  the  amount  became  $150,000,  carried  by 
two  hundred  men  and  one  hundred  wagons;  in  1831  $250,- 
ooo  was  the  value  of  the  traffic,  and  three  hundred  and 
twenty  men  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  wagons  were  em 
ployed;  in  1843,  the  year  of  the  embargo,  $450,000  worth 
of  goods  were  taken  to  Santa  Fe,  in  two  hundred  and  thirty 
wagons,  by  three  hundred  and  fifty  men. 

Josiah  Gregg,  who  wrote3  in  1844,  indicated  his  belief 
that  the  traffic  was  done  for  all  time.  But  with  the  close  of 
the  war  with  Mexico  it  began  to  increase  rapidly.  Soon 
thousands  of  wagons  made  the  trip  annually.  Each  wagon 
could  carry  from  five  to  six  thousand  pounds.  As  freight 
to  Santa  Fe  was  ten  dollars  per  hundred  pounds,  the  profits 
were  large.  The  trip  required  from  eighty  to  ninety  days. 

The  journey  by  stage  required  two  weeks.  The  fare  was 
$250.  When  the  Santa  Fe  trade  was  at  its  height  the  man 
who  manufactured  all  the  ox-yokes  made  fifty  thousand 
dollars  a  year. 

Until  1832  the  start  was  made  from  Franklin,  Missouri; 
then  Independence  became  the  Missouri  terminus  of  the 
Trail.  After  the  war  with  Mexico,  Westport  (Kansas 
City)  became  popular  as  a  starting  point  with  many  of  the 
traders. 

Traders  were  not  the  only  men  who  made  use  of  the 
Santa  Fe  Trail.  Emigrants  by  hundreds  and  thousands 
used  the  route,  or  a  portion  of  it.  Many  of  those  who 
sought  Southern  California  went  by  way  of  Santa  Fe;  the 
road  to  California  lay  for  some  distance  along  the  Santa 
Fe  Trail,  and  many  started  for  Oregon  the  same  way. 


IL    FACING  FAMINE  AND  FIGHTING  INDIANS 

Those  western  pioneers  an  impulse  felt, 
Which  their  less  hardy  sons  scarce  comprehend; 
Alone  in  Nature's  wildest  scenes  they  dwelt, 
Where  crag  and  precipice  and  torrent  blend; 
And  stretched  around  the  wilderness  as  rude 
As  the  red  rovers  of  the  solitude 
Who  watched  their  coming  with  a  hate  profound 
And  fought  with  deadly  strife  for  every  inch  of  ground. 

— Frederick  W.  Thomas. 

ON  May  21,  Thomas  J.  Farnham  and  sixteen  others  ar 
rived  in  Independence,  on  their  way  to  the  Oregon  Terri 
tory.  Some  were  health  seekers,  some  sightseers,  and  a 
few  were  home-seekers.  Farnham  gave  in  the  story  of  his 
travels  an  interesting  picture  that  should  not  be  buried  in  a 
volume  long  out  of  print : 4 

Pack  mules  and  horses  and  pack-saddles  were  purchased 
and  prepared  for  service.  Bacon  and  flour,  salt  and  pepper, 
sufficient  for  400  miles,  were  secured  in  sacks ;  our  powder- 
casks  were  wrapped  in  painted  canvas;  and  large  oilcloths 
were  purchased  to  protect  them  and  our  sacks  of  clothing 
from  the  rains ;  our  arms  were  thoroughly  repaired ;  bullets 
were  moulded;  powder-horns  and  cap-boxes  filled,  and  all 
else  done  that  was  deemed  needful  .  .  . 

But  before  leaving  this  little  woodland  town,  it  will  be 
interesting  to  remember  that  it  is  the  usual  place  of 
rendezvous  and  outfit  for  the  overland  traders  to  Santa  Fe 
and  other  Mexican  States.  In  the  month  of  May  of  each 
year,  the  traders  congregate  here,  and  buy  large  Pennsyl 
vania  wagons  and  teams  of  mules  to  convey  their  calicoes, 
cotton,  cloth,  boots,  shoes,  &c,  &c,  over  the  plains  to  that 
distant  and  hazardous  market.  And  it  is  quite  amusing  to 
a  ' 'green-horn,"  as  those  are  called  who  have  never  been 

189 


190        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS' 

engaged  in  the  trade,  to  see  the  mules  make  their  first  at 
tempt  at  practical  pulling.  They  are  ha'rnessed  in  a  team,  two 
upon  the  shaft,  and  the  remainder  two  abreast  in  long 
swinging  iron  traces.  And  then,  by  way  of  initiary  intima 
tion  that  they  have  passed  from  a  life  of  monotonous  con 
templation,  in  the  seclusion  of  their  nursery  pastures,  to 
the  bustling  duties  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade,  a  hot  iron  is 
applied  to  the  thigh  or  shoulder  of  each  with  an  embrace 
so  cordially  warm  as  to  leave  there,  in  blistered  perfection, 
the  initials  of  the  last  owner's  name.  This  done,  a  Mexican 
Spaniard,  as  chief  muleteer,  mounts  the  right  hand  wheel 
mule,  and  another  the  left  hand  one  of  the  span  next  the 
leaders,  while  four  or  five  others,  as  foot-guards,  stand  on 
either  side,  armed  with  whips  and  thongs.  The  team  is 
straightened — and  now  comes  the  trial  of  passive  obedience. 
The  chief  muleteer  gives  the  shout  of  march,  and  drives  his 
long  spurs  into  the  sides  of  the  animal  that  bears  him;  his 
companion  before  follows  his  example,  but  there  is  no  move 
ment.  An  unearthly  bray  is  the  only  response  of  these 
martyrs  to  human  supremacy.  Again  the  team  is  straight 
ened  ;  again  the  bloody  rowel  is  applied ;  the  body-guard  on 
foot  raise  the  shout ;  and  all  as  one  apply  the  lash.  The  un 
tutored  animals  kick  and  leap,  rear  and  plunge,  and  fall  in 
their  harness.  In  fine,  they  act  the  mule,  and  generally 
succeed  in  breaking  neck  or  limb  of  some  one  of  their 
number,  and  in  raising  a  tumult  that  would  do  credit  to 
any  order  of  animals  accustomed  to  long  ears. 

After  a  few  trainings  of  this  description,  however,  they 
move  off  in  fine  style.  And,  although  some  luckless  one 
may  at  intervals  brace  himself  up  to  an  uncompromising 
resistance  of  such  encroachment  upon  his  freedom,  still,  the 
majority  preferring  passive  obedience  to  active  pelting  drag 
him  onward,  till  like  themselves  he  submits  to  the  discipline 
of  the  traces. 

On  the  3Oth  of  May  we  found  ourselves  prepared  to 
move  for  Indian  Territory.  Our  pack-saddles  being  there 
fore  girded  upon  the  animals,  our  sack  of  provisions,  &c, 
snugly  lashed  upon  them,  and  protected  from  the  rain  that 
had  begun  to  fall,  and  ourselves  well  mounted  and  armed, 
we  took  the  road  that  leads  southwest  from  Independence 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  191 

in  the  direction  of  Santa  Fe.  But  the  rains  that  had  accom 
panied  us  daily  since  we  left  Peoria,  seemed  determined  to 
escort  us  still,  our  ill-natured  scowls  to  the  contrary  not 
withstanding.  We  had  traveled  only  three  miles  when  such 
torrents  fell  that  we  found  it  necessary  to  take  shelter  in  a 
neighboring  school-house  for  the  night. 

The  following  morning  was  clear  and  pleasant  .  .  .  We 
crossed  the  .  .  .  Big-Blue  .  .  .  and  approached  the  border 
of  the  Indian  domain.  All  were  anxious  now  to  see  and 
linger  over  every  object  that  reminded  us  we  were  still  on 
the  confines  of  ...  civilization  .  .  .  The  last  cabin  at 
length  was  approached  .  .  .  Before  us  were  the  treeless 
plains  of  green,  as  they  had  been  since  the  flood — beauti 
ful,  unbroken  by  bush  or  rock,  unsoiled  by  plough  or 
spade.  .  .  . 

Having  traveled  about  twenty-five  miles  over  the  beauti 
ful  prairie,  we  halted  on  the  banks  of  a  small  stream  .  .  . 
At  this  encampment  final  arrangements  were  made  for  our 
journey  over  the  Prairies.  To  this  end  provisions,  men, 
ammunition,  packs  and  pack-saddles  were  overhauled,  and 
an  account  taken  of  our  common  stock  of  goods  for  trading 
with  the  Indians.  .  .  .  We  determined  to  remain  here  a 
while  and  send  back  to  the  Kauzaus  Indian  mill  for  200 
pounds  of  flour  .  .  .  Officers  were  also  chosen  and  their 
powers  defined,  and  whatever  leisure  was  found  from  these 
duties,  during  a  tarry  of  two  days,  we  spent  in  regaling 
ourselves  with  strawberries  and  gooseberries.  .  .  . 

Our  friends  having  returned  from  the  mill  ...  we  left 
Elm  Grove  on  the  3d  of  June,  traveled  along  the  Santa  Fe 
trail  about  15  miles,  and  encamped  .  .  .  We  remained  here 
a  day  and  a  half,  waiting  for  two  of  our  number  who  had 
gone  in  search  of  a  horse  that  had  left  our  encampment  at 
Elm  Grove.  .  .  . 

Our  road  on  the  5th  was  .through  a  nearly  level  prairie 
...  A  skirt  of  black  oak  timber  occasionally  lined  the 
horizon  or  strayed  up  a  deep  ravine  near  the  trail.  The  ex 
treme  care  of  the  traders  in  the  overland  Santa  Fe  trade 
was  everywhere  noticeable,  in  the  fact  that  the  track  of  their 
richly-loaded  wagons  never  approached  within  musket-shot 
of  these  forests  of  timber.  Fifteen  miles*  march  brought 


192         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEEPvS 

us  to  our  place  of  encampment.  A  certain  portion  of  the 
company,  allotted  to  that  labor,  utipacked  the  company's 
mules  of  the  common-stock  property,  provisions,  ammu 
nition,  &c. ;  another  portion  pitched  the  tent ;  another  gath 
ered  wood  and  kindled  a  fire;  while  others  brought  water, 
and  still  others  put  seething-pots  and  frying-pans  to  their 
appropriate  duties.  So  that  ...  a  few  minutes  trans 
formed  our  little  cavalcade  from  a  moving  troop  into  an 
eating,  drinking  and  joyous  camp.  A  thunder  storm  visited 
us  during  the  night  .  .  .  The  rain  came  in  floods ;  and  our 
tent,  not  being  ditched  around,  was  flooded  soon  after  the 
commencement  of  the  storm,  and  ourselves  and  baggage 
thoroughly  drenched. 

The  next  day  we  made  about  15  miles  through  the  mud 
and  rain,  and  stopped  for  the  night  near  a  solitary  tree 
upon  the  bank  of  a  small  tributary  of  the  Kanzas  river. 
Here  fortune  favored  our  fast-decreasing  larder.  One  of 
the  company  killed  a  turtle,  which  furnished  us  an  excellent 
supper.  .  .  . 

On  the  7th  .  .  .  our  company  was  divided  into  two 
messes,  nine  in  one,  and  eight  in  the  other.  On  the  ground, 
with  each  a  tin  pint  cup  and  a  small  round  plate  of  the  same 
material;  the  first  filled  with  coffee,  tea,  or  water,  the  last 
with  fried  side  bacon,  and  dough  fried  in  fat;  each  with  a 
butcher-knife  in  hand  and  each  mess  sitting,  tailor-like, 
around  its  own  frying-pan,  eating  with  the  appetite  of 
tigers.  .  .  . 

There  were  encamped  near  us  some  wagoners  on  their 
return  to  Missouri,  who  had  gone  out  to  Council  Grove 
with  the  provisions  and  that  part  of  the  goods  of  the  Santa 
Fe  traders  which  the  team  of  untrained  mules  had  been  un 
able  to  draw  when  they  left  Independence.  .  .  . 

Three  of  my  valuable  men  had  determined  to  accompany 
the  wagoners  to  the  States.  And  as  they  filed  off  ...  an 
expression  of  deep  discouragement  shaded  every  face  .  .  . 
But  .  .  .  the  determination  to  penetrate  the  valleys  of 
Oregon  soon  swept  away  every  feeling  of  depression ;  and, 
two  hunters  being  sent  forward  to  replenish  our  larder,  we 
trailed  happily  onward. 

»  .  .  At  night-fall  we  found  ourselves  on  a  height  over- 


By  permission  of  the  American  Society  of  Church  Literature 

THE    BATTLE    OF  THE   ALAMO 


MARKER   OX    THE 
SANTA    FE    TRAIL 


From  Gregg's  "Commerce  of  the  Prairies' 


WAGONS    PARKED   FOR    THE    NIGHT 


" 


From  Schoolcraffi  "Historical  Conditions  and  Prospect* 
of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States" 


NEAR   FORT   DEFIANCE,    NEW   MEXICO 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  193 

looking  a  beautiful  grove  .  .  .  This  we  supposed  to  be 
Council  Grove.  On  the  swell  of  a  hill  are  the  remains  of 
an  old  Kauzaus  encampment  .  .  .  We  fired  signal  guns  for 
the  hunters,  pitched  our  tents,  took  up  for  fuel  the  boughs 
which  had  been  used  by  the  Indians  in  building  their  wig 
wams,  and  proceeded  to  cook  our  supper.  This  encamp 
ment  was  made  by  the  Kauzaus  six  years  ago,  when  on  their 
way  South  to  their  annual  buffalo-hunt  .  .  .  About  9 
o'clock  our  signal  guns  were  answered  by  the  return  of  our 
hunters.  They  had  scoured  the  country  all  day  in  quest  of 
game,  but  found  none.  Our  hopes  were  somewhat  de 
pressed  by  the  result.  We  had  but  100  pounds  of  flour  and 
one  side  of  bacon  left ;  and  the  buffalo,  by  the  best  estimate 
we  could  make,  were  still  300  miles  distant.  The  country 
between  us  and  these  animals,  too,  being  constantly  scoured 
by  Indian  hunters,  afforded  us  but  little  prospect  of  obtain 
ing  other  game.  .  .  .  Having  put  ourselves  on  short  al 
lowance  and  looked  at  our  horses  as  the  means  of  prevent 
ing  starvation,  we  sought  rest  for  the  fatigue  of  the  next 
day's  march. 

Council  Grove  derives  its  name  from  the  practice  among 
the  traders,  from  the  commencement  of  the  overland  com 
merce  with  the  Mexican  dominion,  of  assembling  here  for 
the  appointment  of  officers  and  the  establishment  of  rules 
and  regulations  to  govern  their  march  through  the  danger 
ous  country  South  of  it.  They  first  elect  heir  commander- 
in-chief.  His  duty  is  to  appoint  subordinate  heads  and  to 
divide  the  owners  and  men  into  watches,  and  to  assign  them 
their  several  hours  of  duty  in  guarding  the  camp  during  the 
remainder  of  their  perilous  journey.  He  also  divides  the 
caravan  into  two  parts,  each  of  which  forms  a  column  when 
on  march.  In  these  lines  he  assigns  each  team  its  place  in 
which  it  must  always  be  found.  Having  arranged  these 
several  matters,  the  Council  breaks  up ;  and  the  Commander, 
with  the  guard  on  duty,  moves  off  in  advance  to  select  the 
track  and  anticipate  approaching  danger.  After  this  guard 
the  head  teams  of  each  column  lead  off  about  eight  feet 
apart  and  the  others  follow  in  regular  lines;  rising  and 
dipping  gloriously;  200  men,  100  wagons,  800  mules; 
shoutings  and  whippings  and  whistlings  and  cheerings,  are 


194         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS  ' 

all  there;  and,  amidst  them  all,  the  Jiardy  Yankees  move 
happily  onward,  to  the  siege  of  the  mines  of  Montezuma. 
Several  objects  are  gained  by  this  arrangement  of  the 
wagons.  If  they  are  attacked  on  march  by  the  Cumanche 
cavalry  or  other  foes,  the  leading  teams  file  to  the  right 
and  left  and  close  the  front,  and  the  hindermost  by  a  similar 
movement  close  the  rear;  and  thus  they  form  an  oblong 
rampart  of  wagons  laden  with  cotton  goods  that  effectually 
shields  teams  and  men  from  the  small  arms  of  the  Indians. 
The  same  arrangement  is  made  when  they  halt  for  the 
night. 

Within  the  area  thus  formed  are  put,  after  they  are  fed, 
many  of  the  more  valuable  horses  and  oxen.  The  remainder 
of  the  animals  are  "staked" — that  is,  tied  to  stakes,  at  a 
distance  of  20  or  30  yards,  around  the  line.  The  ropes  by 
•which  they  are  fastened  are  from  30  to  40  feet  in  length, 
and  the  stakes  to  which  they  are  attached  are  carefully 
driven  at  such  distances  apart  as  shall  prevent  their  being 
entangled  one  with  another. 

Among  these  animals  the  guard  on  duty  is  stationed, 
standing  motionless  or  crouching  so  as  to  discover  every 
moving  spot  upon  the  horizon  of  night.  The  reasons  as 
signed  for  this  .  .  .  are  that  a  guard  in  motion  would  be 
discovered  and  fired  upon  by  the  cautious  savage  .  .  .  and, 
further,  that  it  is  impossible  to  discern  the  approach  of  an 
Indian,  creeping  among  the  grass  in  the  dark,  unless  the  eye 
of  the  observer  is  so  close  to  the  ground  as  to  bring  the 
whole  surface  lying  within  the  range  of  vision  between  it 
and  the  line  of  light  around  the  lower  edge  of  the  horizon. 
If  the  camp  be  attacked,  the  guard  fires  and  retires  to  the 
wagon.  The  whole  body  then  take  position  for  defence;  at 
one  time  sallying  out,  they  recover  their  animals  from  the 
grasp  of  the  Indians;  and  at  another,  concealed  behind  the 
wagons,  they  load  and  fire  upon  the  intruders  .  .  .  And 
many  were  the  bloody  battles  fought  on  the  trail ;  and  such 
were  some  of  the  anxieties  and  dangers  that  attended  and 
still  attend  the  "Santa  Fe  Trail."  And  many  are  the  graves 
along  the  track,  of  those  who  have  fallen  before  the  terrible 
cavalry  of  the  Cumanches. 

.  .  .  Ten  miles  on  the  day's  march,  the  animals  were 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  195 

tugging  lustily  through  the  mud,  when  the  advance  guard 
shouted,  "Elk!  Elk!"  and  "steak  broiled"  and  "ribs  broiled" 
and  "marrow  bones"  and  "no  more  hunger"  and  "Oregon 
forever,  storm  or  live"  as  an  appointed  number  of  my  com 
panions  filed  off  to  the  chase. 

About  six  o'clock  we  overtook  a  company  of  Santa  Fe 
traders  commanded  by  Captain  Kelley.  The  gloom  of  the 
atmosphere  was  such  when  we  approached  his  camp  that 
Captain  K.  supposed  us  Indians,  and  took  measures  accord 
ingly  to  defend  himself.  Having  stationed  his  twenty-nine 
men  within  the  barricade  formed  by  his  wagons,  he  himself, 
accompanied  by  a  single  man,  came  to  reconnoitre.  And 
he  was  not  less  agreeably  surprised  to  find  us  whites  and 
friends  than  we  were  at  the  prospect  of  society  and  food. 

.  .  .  We  encamped  at  sunset  on  the  banks  of  a  branch  of 
the  Arkansas.  Our  ration  was  now  reduced  to  one-eighth 
of  a  pint  of  flour  to  each  man  ...  A  herd  of  oxen  and 
mules  were  feeding  and  lowing  upon  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  stream.  They  belonged  to  the  Messrs.  Bents,  who  have 
a  trading  post  upon  the  Arkansas.  One  of  the  partners  and 
thirty  odd  men  were  on  their  way  to  St.  Louis  with  ten 
wagons  laden  with  peltries.  They  were  also  driving  down 
200  Santa  Fe  sheep  for  the  Missouri  market.  These  animals 
are  usually  purchased  from  the  Spaniards;  and  if  the  In 
dians  prove  far  enough  from  the  track  to  permit  the  pur 
chaser  to  drive  them  into  the  States,  his  investment  is  un 
usually  profitable  ...  On  meeting  the  gentlemen  in  charge 
of  the  wagon  before  spoken  of,  he  informed  us  that  he  had 
lost  thirty  Mexican  mules  and  seven  horses ;  and  desired  us, 
as  we  intended  to  pass  his  post,  to  recover  and  take  them 
back.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  The  country  in  which  we  now  were  was  by  no  means  ^ 
sacred  to  life,  limb  or  property.  The  Pawnee  and  Cumanche 
war  parties  roam  through  it  during  the  spring  and  summer 
months  for  plunder  and  scalps.  The  guard  .  .  .  was  there 
fore  carefully  stationed  at  nightfall  among  the  animals 
around  the  tents,  and  urged  to  the  utmost  careful  watch 
fulness.  But  no  foes  molested  us.  In  the  expressive  lan 
guage  of  the  giant  of  our  band,  prefaced  always  with  an 


196        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

appropriate  sigh  and  arms  akimbo,  ."We  were  not  mur 
dered  yet." 

The  I4th,  I5th  and  i6th  (June)  were  days  of  more 
than  ordinary  hardships.  With  barely  food  enough  to  sup 
port  life — drenched  daily  by  thunder  storms  and  by  swim 
ming  and  fording  the  numerous  drains  of  this  alluvial 
region,  and  worried  by  the  continual  packing  and  unpack 
ing  of  our  animals,  and  enfeebled  by  the  dampness  of  my 
couch  at  night,  I  was  so  much  reduced  when  I  dismounted 
from  my  horse  on  the  evening  of  the  i6th,  that  I  was  un 
able  to  loose  the  girth  of  my  saddle  or  spread  my  blanket 
for  repose. 

Fortunately  the  buffalo  were  seen  several  days  later,  and 
a  fat  bull  was  killed.  Ten  days  later  the  buffalo  were  so 
thick  that  it  appeared  oftentimes  extremely  dangerous  even 
for  the  immense  cavalcade  of  the  Santa  Fe  traders  to 
attempt  to  break  its  way  through  them.  We  traveled  at  the 
rate  of  fifteen  miles  a  day.  The  length  of  sight  on  either 
side  of  the  trail,  15  miles;  on  both  sides,  30  miles: — 15x3 — 
45x30 — 1,350  square  miles  of  country  so  thickly  covered 
with  these  noble  animals  than  when  viewed  from  a  height 
it  scarcely  afforded  a  sight  of  a  square  league  of  its  surface. 

On  July  1 1  the  party  divided.  Part  went  on  to  Santa  Fe. 
Part  turned  north  toward  the  mountains  and  Oregon.  This 
was  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  William. 


III.     WHEN  THE  TRAIL  WAS  IN  ITS  GLORY 

On  and  on  the  compact  ranks, 
With  accessions  ever  waiting,  with  the  places  of  the  dead  quickly 

fill'd, 

Through  the  battle,  through  defeat,  moving  yet  and  never  stop 
ping, 

Pioneers  !    O  pioneers ! 

—Walt  Whitman. 


EDWIN  BRYANT,  who  left  Independence  May  5, 
bound  for  Oregon,  did  not  continue  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail 
so  long  as  Farnham.  He  left  it  after  eight  days,  while 
Farnham  followed  it  for  seven  weeks.  The  diary  of 
Bryant's  eight  days  5  is  full  of  interest.  He  left  Independ 
ence  May  5,  with  one  wagon  and  the  oxen.  Within  three 
hours  the  wagon  stalled  twice,  once  in  the  mud, — from  this 
predicament  relieved  by  a  passing  negro  with  a  well-trained 
yoke  of  oxen;  the  second  time  the  wagon  ran  off  one  side 
of  a  bridge — relieved  here  by  a  Santa  Fe  teamster  and 
his  ox. 

May  6.  Three  Santa  Fe  wagons  which  passed  our  camp 
last  night  during  the  storm,  were  stalled  in  the  road  just 
beyond  us.  ...  At  two  o'clock  we  reached  an  encampment 
composed  of  the  wagons  of  Colonel  Russell  and  the  family 
of  Mr.  West,  of  Galloway  County,  Missouri,  and  some 
others.  They  were  emigrating  to  California.  The  wagons 
numbered  in  all  about  fifteen.  When  our  wagon  arrived  it 
was  drawn  up  alongside  the  others,  and  our  oxen  released 
to  feed  upon  the  grass  of  the  prairies.  I  visited  the  tents 
of  our  fellow-travellers,  and  found  the  ladies  busily  em 
ployed,  as  if  sitting  by  the  fireside  which  they  had  recently 
left  for  a  long  and  toilsome,  if  not  a  dangerous,  journey 
and  a  country  of  which  they  knew  but  little.  Mrs.  West,  a 

197 


198        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS  . 

lady  of  seventy,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Campbell,  were 
knitting.  Mr.  West,  the  head  of  the  Jamily,  was  originally 
from  Virginia,  and  was,  he  told  me,  seventy-five  years  of 
age.  His  four  sons  and  son-in-law,  Major  Campbell,  hav 
ing  determined  to  emigrate  to  California,  he  and  his  wife 
had  resolved  to  accompany  them.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  West,  al 
though  so  much  advanced  in  life,  appeared  to  be  as  resolute 
as  the  youngest  of  the  family,  and  to  count  with  certainty 
upon  seeing  the  Eldorado  of  the  Pacific.  The  former 
realized  this  expectation — the  latter  did  not. 

Fear  was  felt  as  to  the  Mormons,  who  were  traveling 
West  in  large  numbers.  It  was  rumored  among  the  emi 
grants,  for  instance,  that  "five  thousand  Mormons  were 
crossing  or  had  crossed,  the  Kansas  river ;  that  they  marched 
with  ten  brass  field-pieces,  and  that  every  man  of  the  party 
was  armed  with  a  rifle,  a  bowie  knife,  and  a  brace  of  large 
revolving  pistols.  It  was  declared  that  they  were  in- 
veterately  hostile  to  the  emigrant  parties;  and  when  the 
latter  came  up  to  the  Mormons,  they  intended  to  attack  and 
murder  them,  and  appropriate  to  themselves  their  prop 
erty.6 

Mr.  Bryant  was  too  wise  to  pay  much  attention  to  these 
rumors.  "With  proper  circumspection  on  our  part  no  diffi 
culties  with  them  need  be  apprehended,"  he  decided. 

On  May  8,  early  in  the  afternoon,  an  encampment  of  sev 
eral  emigrant  wagons  was  passed,  and  later  in  the  day  ten 
emigrant  wagons  were  overtaken,  with  a  numerous  drove 
of  cows  and  other  stock.  In  the  evening  when  camp  was 
made,  two  wagons  were  on  the  ground  before  them.  This 
party  was  from  St.  Louis,  while  a  company  from  Michigan 
was  encamped  in  a  grove  of  timber  about  a  mile  distant. 

On  May  9  a  pause  was  made  to  fish  and  to  rearrange  the 
provisions  and  equipment.  By  night  other  wagons  had 
come  up,  until  there  were  thirty-four  in  the  encampment. 
Therefore 

it  was  proposed  that  the  party  for  California  should  be 
organized  and  officered  .  .  .  Singular  as  it  may  appear, 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  199 

there  is  as  much  electioneering  here  for  the  captaincy  of 
this  expedition  as  there  would  be  for  the  generalship  of  an 
army,  or  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States.  The 
many  interests  of  the  ambitious  aspirants  to  office  and  the 
vehemence  with  which  their  claims  are  urged  by  their  re 
spective  friends  argue  unfavorably  to  harmony  on  the 
journey. 

Our  camp  this  evening  presents  a  most  cheerful  appear 
ance.  The  prairie,  miles  before  us,  is  enlivened  with  groups 
of  cattle,  numbering  six  or  seven  hundred,  feeding  upon 
the  fresh  green  grass.  The  numerous  white  tents  and 
wagon-covers,  before  which  the  camp-fires  are  blazing 
brightly,  represent  a  rustic  village;  and  men,  women  and 
children  are  talking,  playing  and  singing  around  them  with 
all  the  glee  of  light  and  careless  hearts.  While  I  am  writ 
ing,  a  party  at  the  lower  end  of  the  camp  is  engaged  in 
singing  hymns  and  sacred  songs. 

May  12.  All  the  wagons  and  teams  were  this  morning 
inspected  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose.  It 
appeared  from  the  report  that  the  number  of  wagons  be 
longing  to  the  company  was  63 ;  of  men  1 19 ;  of  women  59; 
of  children,  male  and  female,  no;  pounds  of  breadstuffs, 
58,484;  of  bacon,  38,080;  of  powder,  1,065 ;  °f  lea(i,  2,557; 
number  of  guns,  mostly  rifles,  144 ;  pistols,  94.  The  number 
of  cattle  was  not  reported,  but  I  estimate  it  at  700,  including 
the  loose  stock,  and  150  horses. 

May  13.  I  met,  this  afternoon,  three  returning  Santa  Fe 
trading  companies ;  two  of  them  with  three  or  four  wagons, 
and  the  other  with  twelve  wagons,  all  drawn  by  mules. 
They  were  driving  before  them  several  large  herds  of 
mules,  in  the  aggregate  about  one  thousand.  The  mules 
were  so  lean  that  the  ribs  of  most  of  them  were  defined 
with  precision,  and  the  bones  of  some  of  them  appeared  to 
have  worn  through  the  flesh.  I  never  saw  a  more  ghostly 
collection  of  animals.  .  .  . 

I  stopped  and  conversed  some  time  with  one  of  the  lead 
ing  men  of  the  companies  .  .  .  He  said  that  the  principal 
part  of  the  mules  had  been  driven  from  Chihuahua,  and 
had  cost  them  twenty  dollars  per  head ;  that  they  were  taken 
in  exchange  for  such  commodities  as  had  been  carried  out 


200        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS, 

with  them,  and  he  expected  to  dispose  of  them  at  a  profit  on 
his  arrival  in  the  settlements  of  Missouri.  He  said  that 
the  journey  to  Santa  Fe  and  Chihuahua  was  one  of  great 
fatigue  and  hardship,  as  he  knew,  but  that  the  journey  to 
California  was  infinitely  more  so;  that  our  lives  would  be 
shortened  ten  years  by  the  trip,  and  before  we  returned,  if 
we  experienced  such  good  fortune,  our  heads  would  be 
white,  not  with  the  frosts  of  age,  but  from  the  effects  of 
exposure  and  extreme  hardships. 

That  afternoon  the  party  turned  from  the  Santa  Fe  Trail 
toward  California. 

During  the  years  immediately  following  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  the  number  of  emigrants  who  made  use 
of  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  was  large,  in  spite  of  the  great  diffi 
culties  of  the  way  beyond  the  New  Mexico  city.  Bayard 
Taylor  7  told  of  meeting  some  of  these  pilgrims  who  took 
passage  from  San  Diego  for  San  Francisco  on  the  vessel 
which  had  carried  him  from  New  York : 

The  stories  of  these  adventurers  by  the  way  sounded 
more  marvellous  than  anything  I  had  heard  or  read  since 
my  boyish  acquaintance  with  Robinson  Crusoe,  Captain 
Cook,  and  John  Ledyard.  Taking  them  as  the  average  ex 
perience  of  the  thirty  thousand  emigrants  who  last  year 
crossed  the  Plains,  this  California  Crusade  will  more  than 
equal  the  great  military  expeditions  of  the  Middle  Ages  in 
magnitude,  peril  and  adventure.  The  amount  of  suffering 
which  must  have  been  endured  in  the  savage  mountain 
passes  and  herbless  deserts  of  the  interior  cannot  be  told  in 
words.  Some  had  come  by  way  of  Santa  Fe  and  along  the 
savage  hills  of  the  Gila;  some,  starting  from  Red  River, 
had  crossed  the  Great  Stake  Desert  and  taken  the  road  from 
Paso  del  Norte  to  Tucson  or  Sonora. 

For  twenty  years  long  the  emigrants  by  the  Santa  Fe 
Trail  had  to  keep  their  eyes  open  for  Indians.  Relief  did 
not  come  until  General  Sheridan's  campaign  against  the 
savages  of  the  plains  in  1868  and  1869. 


THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL  201 

The  traveler  who  desires  to  see  a  bit  of  the  old  trail — 
almost  every  mile  of  which  was  marked  by  anguish  and 
blood — can  have  his  wish  satisfied  if  he  will  look  carefully 
from  the  cars  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Rail 
road  three  miles  west  of  Walnut  Creek,  where  the  trail  may 
be  seen  as  it  passes  down  the  slope  toward  the  creek. 

Since  1880,  when  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe 
Railroad  was  opened,  the  Trail  has  been  a  memory.  But 
it  is  a  glorious  memory. 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  V 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "Commerce  of  the  Prairies,"  Vol.  II,  p.  25. 

2.  Newspaper  Account,  as  Copied  in  "The  Old  Santa  Fe  Trail,"  p.  69. 

3.  "Commerce  of  the  Prairies,"  Vol.  II,  p.  160. 

4.  "Travels  in  the  Great  Western  Prairies,"  p.  4. 

5.  "What  I  Saw  in  California,"  p.  21. 

6.  Ibid.,  p.  15. 

7.  "El  Dorado,"  Vol.  I,  p.  47- 


CHAPTER  SIX :  ALONG  THE  OREGON  TRAIL 


Westward  the  Oregon  flows,  and  the  Walleway  and  Owybee. 

Eastward,    with    devious    course,    among    the    Wind-river 
Mountains, 

Through  the  Sweet-water  Valley  precipitate  leaps  the  Ne 
braska  ; 

And  to  the  south,  from  Fontaine-qui-bout  and  the  Spanish 
sierras, 

Fretted  with  sand  and  rocks,  and  swept  by  the  wind  of  the 
desert, 

Numberless  torrents,   with  ceaseless  sound,  descend  to  the 
ocean, 

Like  the  great  chords  of  a  harp,  in  loud  and  solemn  vibrations. 

Spreading  between  these  streams  are  the  wondrous,  beautiful 
prairies, 

Billowy  bays  of  grass  ever  rolling  in  shadow  and  sunshine, 

Bright  with  luxuriant  clusters  of  roses  and  purple  amorphas. 

Over  them  wandered  the  buffalo  herds,  and  the  elk  and  the 
roebuck  ; 

Over  them  wandered  the  wolves,  and  herds  of  riderless  horses ; 

Fires  that  blast  and  blight,  and  winds  that  are  weary  with 
travel ; 

Over  them  wander  the  scattered  tribes  of  Ishmaers  children, 

Staining  the  desert  with  blood ;  and  above  their  terrible  war- 
trails 

Circles  and  sails  aloft,  on  pinions  majestic,  the  vulture, 

Like  the  implacable  soul  of  a  chieftain  slaughtered  in  battle, 

By  invisible  stairs  ascending  and  scaling  the  heavens. 

Here  and  there  rise  groves  from  the  margin  of  swift-running 
rivers  ; 

And  the  grim,  taciturn  bear,  the  anchorite  monk  of  the  desert, 

Climbs  down  their  dark  ravines  to  dig  for  roots  by  the  brook- 
side, 

While  over  all  is  the  sky,  the  clear  and  crystalline  heaven, 

Like  the  protecting  hand  of  God  inverted  above  them. 

— HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW. 


I.    THE  WAGON  WHEELS  OF  WHITMAN 

"Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  trains  are  marching 
Westward,  still  westward  day  by  day; 
Standing  guard  the  livelong  night, 
Ever  ready  for  the  fight, 
Here  to  plant  the  flag,  three  thousand  miles  away." 

NOT  until  about  1832  did  the  Oregon  Trail  begin  to  rival 
the  Santa  Fe  Trail  as  a  route  to  the  West,  though  it  had 
been  traced  roughly  in  1810  by  Wilson  Price  Hunt.  As 
chief  agent  of  John  Jacob  Astor's  Pacific  Fur  Company, 
Hunt  went  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific  in  charge  of 
a  party  of  fur  traders.  After  following  the  route  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  up  the  Missouri  as  far  as  the  towns  of  the  Man- 
dan  Indians,  he  plunged  boldly  into  the  unmapped  wilder 
ness  and  finally  reached  the  Columbia,  going  by  way  of  the 
Black  Hills,  the  Bighorn  Mountains,  and  the  Snake  river. 
To  a  portion  of  this  route  was  given  later  the  name,  'The 
Oregon  Trail." 

Later  fur  traders  and  adventurers  struck  out  from  the 
lower  Missouri  river,  making  their  start  at  Independence. 
Still  later,  when  the  tide  of  emigration  to  the  West  by  this 
route  set  in,  Independence  and  Weston  were  starting  points 
from  1842  to  1846.  Many  later  parties  started  from  here, 
though  as  early  as  1846  St.  Joseph  became  popular  with 
emigrants  who  came  from  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Indiana. 
After  1850  Council  Bluffs  was  a  favorite  point  for  be 
ginning  the  long  journey. 

The  route,  in  general,  of  those  who  went  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  by  way  of  the  Oregon  Trail  has  been  outlined  thus :  * 

The  Trail,  2400  miles  long,  led  up  the  Platte  and  its 
North  Fork  to  Fort  Laramie,  around  the  Black  Mountains 

205 


206         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

by  the  Sweetwater,  to  South  Pass  (7490  feet  elevation), 
over  this  dip  to  the  Green  River,  by  Muddy  Creek,  to  a  pass 
over  the  divide,  rimming  the  Bear  River  Valley  on  the  east. 
This  was  the  highest  point  of  the  whole  long  trail,  8230 
feet  elevation.  The  road  dropped  down  the  Bear  River 
to  the  most  northern  point  of  its  course  and  then  crossed 
over  an  insignificant  watershed  to  Port  Neuf  River  and 
Fort  Hall  on  the  Snake.  Thus  far  the  way  was  easy.  To 
South  Pass  the  ascent  was  so  gradual  that  it  was  difficult 
to  tell  when  the  summit  was  reached,  and  the  grassy  road 
to  the  higher  pass  over  the  Bear  River  divide  was  only  at 
times  steeper  than  the  national  road  in  the  Alleghenies. 

Fort  Hall  was  1200  miles  from  Independence  and  only  a 
little  over  halfway  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  But  the 
last  part  of  the  road  was  the  hardest.  For  three  hundred 
miles  across  the  desert  without  a  fertile  spot  or  any  pastur 
age  the  trail  followed  the  Snake  River,  whose  canyon  walls 
for  days  together  barred  the  thirsting  herds  from  its  rush 
ing  waters.  From  Salmon  Falls  the  road,  avoiding  a  wide 
bend  of  the  river,  cut  across  the  plains  to  Fort  Boise  .  .  . 
whence  it  continued  northward  down  the  Snake  again  to 
Burnt  River  .  .  .  The  road  turned  off  up  the  Burnt  River 
Canyon,  over  a  dividing  ridge  to  the  Upper  Powder  River, 
whose  transverse  valley  pointed  the  line  of  easiest  ascent 
up  the  steep  slopes  of  the  Blue  Mountains.  The  range  once 
surmounted  by  double  teams,  the  Umatilla  opened  an  easj 
path  down  to  the  Walla  Walla  and  the  great  bend  of  the 
Columbia. 


This  highway  of  travel  has  been  spoken  of  2  as  "the  most 
remarkable  known  to  history.  .  .  .  Considering  the  fact 
that  it  originated  with  the  spontaneous  use  of  travellers; 
that  no  transit  ever  located  a  foot  of  it;  that  no  level  es 
tablished  its  grades ;  that  no  engineer  sought  out  the  fords  or 
built  any  bridges  or  surveyed  the  mountain  passes,  that 
there  was  no  grading  to  speak  of  nor  any  attempt  at 
metalling  the  road  bed;  and  the  general  good  quality  of 
these  two  thousand  miles  of  highway  will  seem  most  ex 
traordinary.  Father  de  Smet,  who  was  born  in  Belgium,  the 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  207 

home  of  good  roads,  pronounced  the  Oregon  Trail  one  of 
the  finest  highways  in  the  world. 

For  many  years  men  were  not  lacking  who  braved  the 
dangers  of  this  route  for  the  sake  of  gain,  but  it  was  not 
until  1832  that  the  first  actual  emigrant  of  whom  there  is 
any  account  turned  his  face  toward  the  Pacific.  The  name 
of  the  man  was  Jason  Lee,  a  Methodist  minister,  who  in 
1833  read  an  appeal  for  missionaries  who  would  respond  to 
the  call  of  the  Nez  Perces  Indians  of  Washington  and  Idaho 
to  teach  them  the  Bible.  The  appeal,  which  was  addressed 
to  anyone  who  would  respond  to  the  call  from  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  read :  3 

We  are  for  having  a  mission  established  at  once.  Let 
two  suitable  men,  unencumbered  with  families  and  possess 
ing  the  spirit  of  martyrs,  throw  themselves  into  the  nation, 
live  with  them,  learn  their  language,  preach  Christ  to  them, 
and — as  the  way  opens, — introduce  schools,  agriculture,  and 
the  arts  of  civilized  life.  The  means  for  these  improve 
ments  can  be  introduced  through  the  fur  traders,  and  by  the 
reinforcements  with  which  from  time  to  time  we  can 
strengthen  the  mission. 

The  call  stirred  the  blood  of  Jason  Lee,  a  young  Ca 
nadian,  six  feet  three  inches  tall,  and  he  persuaded  his 
nephew,  Daniel  Lee,  to  accompany  him.4 

Early  in  1834  Lee  and  his  nephew,  with  two  other  com 
panions,  rode  on  horseback  to  Independence.  There  they 
were  to  join  the  train  of  about  two  hundred  hardy  trappers 
and  hunters,  for  it  was  necessary  for  travelers  through 
the  country  beyond  the  Missouri  to  keep  together,  for  com 
mon  defense  against  the  Indians. 

Jason  Lee  soon  became  a  great  favorite  with  the  hunters 
and  trappers.  They  admired  him  because  of  his  ability  to 
endure  hardships  with  the  best  of  them,  his  readiness  to  do 
his  share  and  more  than  his  share  of  the  work  of  camp  and 
trail,  and  his  manly,  straight fonvard  ways. 


§08        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

For  weeks  the  party  traveled  through  the  buffalo  country, 
where  meat  was  to  be  had  in  abundance.  Hunting  parties 
were  regularly  sent  out  to  bring  in  a  supply  of  the  animals. 
But  soon  game  became  scarce,  and  entire  days  were  passed 
without  eating  meat.  Even  when  meat  could  be  secured, 
it  was  often  impossible  to  cook  it,  lest  prowling  bands  of 
Indians,  seeing  the  smoke  from  the  fire,  should  pounce  upon 
the  camp.  At  such  times  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  go 
supperless  to  bed,  or  eat  raw  meat  While  some  tried  to 
rest,  others  stood  guard,  for  only  by  constant  vigilance 
could  the  party  hope  to  reach  their  goal. 

Finally  the  destination  was  reached,  and  the  first  mis 
sion  among  the  Oregon  Indians  was  opened  on  the  Willam 
ette. 

Two  years  later  another  party  of  four  missionaries  set 
out  from  New  York  State  to  the  Oregon  Country,5  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  and  his  bride,  and  Dr.  H.  H.  Spalding 
and  his  bride.  They  had  arranged  to  join  a  party  of  fur 
traders  of  the  American  Fur  Company  at  Independence, 
but  when  they  reached  the  Missouri  river  they  were  dis 
mayed  to  learn  that  the  traders  had  set  out  four  days  before 
their  arrival. 

Dr.  Spalding  said  they  must  not  think  of  going  on  alone; 
they  must  return  home.  But  Dr.  Whitman  said,  "We  will 
go  on."  And  brave  Mrs.  Spalding  carried  the  day  by  her 
determined  words,  "I  have  started  for  Oregon,  and  to 
Oregon  I  will  go,  or  leave  my  body  on  the  plains." 

So  the  missionaries  hurried  on  their  way,  hoping  to  over 
take  the  fur  traders  within  a  week  or  ten  days.  But  it 
proved  to  be  a  month.  During  this  time  Mrs.  Spalding  and 
Mrs.  Whitman  were  the  life  of  the  company,  encouraging 
the  men  when  obstacles  hindered  them,  and  spurring  them 
on  when  Dr.  Spalding  was  tempted  to  say,  "Let's  go  back." 
He  didn't  say  this  very  often — but  when  he  was  "kicked  by 
a  mule,  shaken  by  the  ague,  stripped  by  a  tornado,  not  only 
of  his  tents  but  his  blankets,  and  crowded  off  the  ferry- 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  209 

boat  by  an  awkward,  uncivilized  frontier  cow,"  it  is  not 
strange  that  he  was  discouraged. 

Dr.  Whitman  had  provided  a  spring  wagon  for  the  two 
brides,  but  Mrs.  Whitman  preferred  to  ride  on  horseback  at 
the  side  of  her  husband,  leaving  the  wagon  to  Mrs.  Spald- 
ing,  who  was  not  strong.  On  other  horses  rode  the  hus 
bands  and  W.  H.  Gray,  who  was  to  be  the  business  agent 
of  the  mission  station.  Following  them  came  two  teamsters, 
in  charge  of  the  wagons  bearing  the  supplies. 

The  fur  traders'  caravan  was  overtaken  on  Loupe  Fork. 
In  the  united  party  there  were  more  than  two  hundred  men 
to  oppose  hostile  Indians.  The  attention  of  many  of  these 
men  had  to  be  given  to  the  six  hundred  animals  taken  along 
for  food.  These  animals  tempted  the  Indians,  and  it  was 
necessary  each  night  to  camp  with  the  stock  in  the  center, 
around  this  the  tents  and  wagons,  and  about  the  whole  en 
campment  a  company  of  vigilant  sentinels. 

The  united  caravan  had  nineteen  laden  carts,  each  drawn 
by  two  mules  driven  tandem,  and  one  light  wagon  belonging 
to  the  American  Fur  Company,  a  rival  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  that  opposed  the  emigration  from  the  United 
States;  two  wagons  belonging  to  Captain  Stuart,  whose 
train  was  a  part  of  the  caravan,  and  one  light  two-horse 
wagon  and  one  four-horse  freight  wagon  belonging  to  the 
missionaries. 

The  experienced  plainsmen  shook  their  heads  when  they 
learned  that  Dr.  Whitman  planned  to  take  his  wagons  across 
the  mountains;  they  explained  that  they  would  leave  their 
own  wagons  at  Fort  Laramie.  But  Dr.  Whitman  insisted 
that  the  wagons  must  go  all  the  way.  He  was  not  thinking 
merely  of  the  convenience  of  those  who  would  use  them, 
but  more  of  the  great  importance  of  proving  to  the  world 
that  a  wagon  could  be  taken  to  Oregon.  He  was  looking 
forward  to  the  day  when  there  would  be  in  that  country 
more  white  people  than  Indians.  Yet  he  knew  that  men 
and  women  would  be  prevented  from  making  the  journey 
by  the  statement  that  it  was  impossible  for  colonis'ts  to  go. 


210        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS' 

to  Oregon  by  wagon.  An  English  editor  had  said  thai 
American  wagons  could  not  go  to  tHe  Columbia  river,  and 
Americans  were  believing  him.  It  was  Dr.  Whitman's  pur 
pose  to  show  the  doubters  that  they  were  wrong. 

For  many  weeks  of  their  journey  the  travelers  had  an 
abundance  of  food.  In  the  buffalo  country,  where  a  single 
herd  sometimes  covered  a  thousand  acres,  the  hunters  could 
slaughter  the  noble  animals  at  will. 

In  anticipation  of  later  days  when  game  would  be  scarce, 
the  caravan  paused  to  "jerk"  or  dry  the  buffalo  meat.  The 
jerked  meat  did  not  seem  very  appetizing,  so  long  as  fresh, 
juicy  buffalo  steaks  were  to  be  had,  but  when  the  herds 
vanished,  all  were  glad  to  eat  it.  Yet  how  they  longed  for 
a  little  bread  to  go  with  it!  Once  Mrs.  Whitman  wrote, 
"O  for  a  few  crusts  of  mother's  bread;  girls,  don't  waste 
the  bread  in  the  old  home." 

"That  is  the  nearest  to  a  complaint  the  brave  woman  came 
during  all  the  trying  journey,  in  spite  of  scorching  sun,  the 
clouds  of  alkali  dust  that  stung  the  eyes  and  throat,  the 
impure  water  they  were  compelled  to  use,  the  myriads  of 
mosquitoes  and  buffalo  gnats,"  one  of  the  historians  of  the 
journey  has  said. 

When,  on  July  4,  1836,  the  missionaries  were  at  last 
over  the  crest  of  the  Rockies,  twenty-five  hundred  miles 
from  home,  they  paused,  spread  their  blankets,  unfurled 
the  American  flag,  and  knelt  in  thankful  prayer  to  dedicate 
to  God  the  Oregon  Country.  The  act  meant  more  than 
the  missionaries  ever  knew.  One  historian  of  Oregon  6 
urges  that  it  went  far  toward  giving  to  the  United  States 
six  thousand  miles  of  Pacific  coast. 

After  this  notable  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  the  march 
was  resumed.  Word  of  the  advance  of  the  caravan  was 
taken  by  Indian  scouts  to  a  party  of  trappers  and  Indians 
who  were  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Green  river. 

This  exhilarating  news  immediately  inspired  .  .  .  the 
trappers,  foremost  among  whom  was  Meek,  with  a  desire 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

to  be  the  first  to  meet  and  greet  the  oncoming  caravan  and 
especially  to  salute  the  two  white  women  who  were  bold 
enough  to  invade  a  mountain  camp.7  In  a  very  short  time 
Meek,  with  half  a  dozen  comrades  and  ten  or  a  dozen  Nez 
Perces,  were  mounted  and  away  on  the  self-imposed  errand 
of  welcome;  the  trappers  because  they  were  "spoiling"  for 
a  fresh  excitement,  and  the  Nez  Perces  because  the  mis 
sionaries  were  bringing  them  information  concerning  the 
powerful  and  beneficent  Deity  of  the  white  men. 

On  the  Sweetwater  about  two  days'  travel  from  camp 
the  caravan  of  the  advancing  company  was  discovered,  and 
the  trappers  proposed  to  give  them  a  characteristic  greeting. 
To  prevent  mistakes  in  recognizing  them,  a  white  flag  was 
hoisted  on  one  of  their  guns,  and  the  word  was  given  to 
start.  Then  over  the  brow  of  a  hill  they  made  their  ap 
pearance,  riding  with  that  mad  speed  only  an  Indian  or  a 
trapper  can  ride,  yelling,  whooping,  dashing  forward  with 
frantic  and  threatening  gestures. 

The  uninitiated  travelers,  believing  they  were  about  to 
be  attacked  by  Indians,  prepared  for  defence,  nor  could  they 
be  persuaded  that  the  preparations  were  unnecessary  until 
their  guide  pointed  out  to  them  the  white  flag  in  advance. 
At  the  assurance  that  the  flag  betokened  friends,  every 
movement  of  the  wild  brigade  became  fascinating.  On  they 
came,  riding  faster  and  faster,  yelling  louder  and  louder, 
and  gesticulating  more  and  more  madly,  until,  as  they  met 
and  passed  the  caravan,  they  discharged  their  guns  in  one 
volley  over  the  heads  of  the  company,  and  suddenly  wheel 
ing  rode  back  to  the  front  as  wildly  as  they  had  come.  Nor 
could  this  first  brief  display  content  the  crazy  cavalcade. 
After  reaching  the  front,  they  rode  back  and  forth,  and 
around  and  around  the  caravan,  which  had  returned  their 
salute,  showing  off  their  feats  of  horsemanship,  and  the 
knowing  tricks  of  their  horses  together;  hardly  stopping 
to  exchange  questions  and  answers  but  seeming  really  in 
toxicated  with  delight  at  the  meeting.  What  strange  emo 
tions  filled  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries,  when  they  beheld 
the  Indians  among  whom  their  lot  was  to  be  cast.  .  .  . 

But  it  was  towards  .  .  .  Mrs.  Whitman  and  Mrs.  Spald- 
ing  that  the  chief  interest  was  directed ;  an  interest  that  was 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS- 

founded  in  the  Indian  mind  upon  wonder,  admiration,  and 
awe;  and  in  the  minds  of  the  trappers  upon  the  powerful 
reflections  awakened  by  seeing  in  their  midst  two  refined 
Christian  women,  with  the  complexion  and  dress  of  their 
own  mothers  and  sisters.  United  to  the  startling-  effects  of 
memory  was  respect  for  the  religious  devotion  which  had  in 
spired  them  to  undertake  the  long  and  dangerous  journey 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  also  a  sentiment  of  pity  for 
what  they  knew  only  too  well  yet  remained  to  be  encoun 
tered  by  these  delicate  women. 

That  evening,  when  the  party  arrived  in  camp  at  the  Nez 
Perces  and  Flathead  village,  on  Green  river,  the  frontiers 
men  looked  reverently  on  the  faces  of  the  first  white  women 
they  had  seen  in  years.  Years  later  one  of  them  said: 
"From  that  day  when  I  again  took  the  hand  of  a  civilized 
woman,  I  was  a  better  man."  And  a  trapper  said,  "This  is 
something  the  royal  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  its  masters 
can't  drive  out  of  Oregon."  He  knew  that  the  coming  of 
the  two  women  meant  the  dawning  of  civilization. 

The  missionaries  now  prepared  for  their  journey  to  the 
Columbia  river.8  According  to  the  advice  of  the  moun 
tain  men  the  heaviest  wagon  was  left  at  the  rendezvous,  to 
gether  with  every  heavy  article  that  could  be  dispensed 
with.  But  Dr.  Whitman  refused  to  leave  the  light  wagon, 
although  assured  that  he  would  never  be  able  to  get  it  to 
the  Columbia,  nor  even  to  the  Snake  river.  The  good 
Doctor  had  an  immense  fund  of  determination  when  there 
was  an  object  to  be  gained  or  a  principle  involved.  The 
only  persons  who  did  not  oppose  wagon  transportation  were 
the  Indians.  They  sympathized  with  his  determination  and 
gave  him  their  assistance.  The  evidence  of  a  different  and 
higher  civilization  than  they  had  ever  seen  were  held  in 
high  reverence  by  them.  The  wagon,  the  domestic  cattle, 
especially  the  cows  and  calves,  were  always  objects  of  great 
interest  to  them.  Therefore  they  freely  gave  their  assis 
tance,  and  a  sufficient  number  remained  behind  to  help  the 
Doctor,  while  the  main  oartv  of  both  missionaries  and  In- 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  213 

dians  .  .  .  proceeded  to  join  the  camp  of  two  Hudson  Bay 
traders  a  few  miles  on  their  way.  .  .  . 

By  dint  of  great  perseverance,  Doctor  Whitman  con 
tinued  to  keep  up  with  the  camp  day  after  day,  though  often 
coming  in  very  late  and  very  weary,  until  the  party  ar 
rived  at  Fort  Hall.  At  the  Fort  their  baggage  was  again 
reduced  as  much  as  possible ;  and  Doctor  Whitman  was  com 
pelled  by  the  desertion  of  his  teamster  to  take  off  two  wheels 
of  his  wagon  and  transform  it  into  a  cart  which  could  be 
more  easily  propelled  in  difficult  places.  With  this  he  pro 
ceeded  as  far  as  the  Boise  river  where  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  had  a  small  fort  or  trading-post,  but  here  again 
he  was  so  strongly  urged  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  taking 
his  wagon  to  the  Columbia  that  after  much  discussion  he 
consented  to  leave  it  at  Fort  Boise  until  some  future  time 
when  unencumbered  by  goods  or  passengers  he  might  re 
turn  for  it. 

The  work  was  done,  substantially.9  The  wagon  and  the 
two  brides,  Mrs.  Whitman  and  Mrs.  Spalding,  had  won 
Oregon.  The  first  wheels  had  marked  the  prairie,  and 
brushed  the  sage,  and  grazed  the  rocks,  and  cut  the  river 
banks  all  the  way  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia.  How 
many  ten  thousands  have  since  been  on  that  trail  with  their 
long  line  of  white-topped  canvas  wagons!  The  first  white 
woman  had  crossed  the  continent,  and  not  only  witnessed 
but  achieved  the  victory  .  .  .  Oregon  is  already  practically 
won.  In  going  through,  Whitman's  wagon  had  demon 
strated  that  women  and  children  and  household  goods — the 
family — could  be  carried  over  the  plains  and  mountains  to 
Oregon. 


At  last  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding  reached  Lapwai,  where 
they  paused  and  founded  a  mission.  Before  many  weeks 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman  found  a  site  for  their  new  home  on 
the  banks  of  the  Walla  Walla,  among  the  Cayuse.  The 
mission  was  called  Wai-i-lat-pu,  the  Indian  name  for  the 
spot. 

From  that  day  Dr.  Whitman  had  but  two  objects  in  life 
— to  teach  the  Indians,  and  to  win  Oregon  for  the  United 


214.        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS. 

States.  Both  England  and  the  United  States  claimed  the 
territory  by  right  of  discovery,  and. in  1818  a  treaty  had 
been  made  for  its  joint  occupation.  Citizens  of  both  coun 
tries  looked  with  longing  eyes  on  the  rich  lands,  and 
longed  to  see  their  own  flag  raised  over  these.  There  were 
Englishmen  who  declared  that  the  territory  should  belong 
to  them,  since  they  alone  could  colonize  it. 

A  writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  10  said,  during  this 
period  of  uncertainty: 

However  the  political  question  between  England  and 
America  as  to  the  ownership  of  Oregon  may  be  decided, 
Oregon  never  can  be  colonized  overland  from  the  Eastern 
States  ...  In  the  meantime  the  long  line  of  coast  [of 
Oregon]  invites  emigration  from  the  overpeopled  shores  of 
the  old  world.  When  once  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  is  ren 
dered  traversable  the  voyage  will  be  easier  and  shorter  than 
that  to  Australia,  which  30,000  of  our  countrymen  have 
made  in  a  single  year  .  .  .  The  uttermost  portions  of  the 
earth  are  our  inheritance;  let  us  not  throw  it  away  in  mere 
supineness,  or  in  deference  to  those  wise  sages  of  the  dis 
couraging  school,  who,  had  they  been  listened  to,  would 
have  checked,  once  begun,  all  the  enterprises  which  have 
checkered  the  face  of  the  world  in  the  last  thirty  years. 

But  Dr.  Whitman  was  determined  to  show  the  English 
that  they  were  wrong.  Perhaps  he  did  more  than  any  other 
man  to  encourage  emigration  and  to  help  the  emigrants  on 
their  way. 

Three  years  after  the  wagon  had  been  left  at  Fort  Boise, 
Thomas  J.  Farnham,11  who  was  on  his  way  to  Oregon, 
wrote  in  his  diary,  under  date  of  September  15  : 

Among  the  curiosities  of  this  establishment  were  the  fore 
wheels,  axletree  and  thills  of  a  one-horse  wagon,  said  to 
have  been  run  by  the  American  missionaries  from  the  State 
of  Connecticut  to  the  mountains  thus  far  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia.  It  was  left  here  under  the  belief  that  it 
could  not  be  taken  through  the  Blue  Mountains.  But  for 
tunately  for  the  next  that  shall  attempt  to  cross  the  conti- 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  215 

nent,  a  safe  and  easy  passage  has  lately  been  discovered  by 
which  vehicles  of  this  kind  may  be  drawn  through  to  Walla 
Walla, 

Within  two  weeks  Farnham  had  a  taste  of  the  mountain 
traveling  of  which  Dr.  Whitman  had  been  warned  when  he 
was  urged  to  leave  his  wagon  at  Fort  Boise.  On  October  I 
he  wrote : 12 

Awhile  we  led  our  animals  through  the  tangled  wood, 
and  then  along  a  steep  gravelly  side  of  the  chasm,  where  the 
foothold  slid  at  every  step;  then  awhile  among  the  rolling 
stones  so  thickly  strewn  upon  the  ground  that  the  horses 
touched  between  them ;  and  again  awhile  we  seemed  to  hang 
on  to  the  cliffs,  and  pause  between  advancing  and  follow 
ing  the  laws  of  gravitation  to  the  bed  of  the  torrent  that 
battled  its  way  in  the  caverns  far  below;  and  then  in  the 
desperation  of  a  last  effort  climbed  the  bank  to  a  place  of 
safety.  At  length  wre  arrived  at  a  large  indentation  in  the 
face  of  the  mountain,  up  the  encircling  rise  of  which  the 
trail  for  half  a  mile  was  of  comparatively  easy  ascent.  At 
the  end  of  this  distance  another  difficulty  was  superadded 
to  all  we  had  yet  experienced.  The  slope  was  covered  to 
the  depth  of  several  feet  with  "cut  rock" — dark  shining 
cubes  from  one  to  three  inches  in  diameter  with  sharp  cor 
ners  and  edges.  It  was  well  nigh  impossible  to  force  our 
horses  over  them  .  .  .  The  poor  animals  would  slip,  and 
gather,  and  cripple ;  and  when  unable  longer  to  endure  the 
cutting  stone  under  their  feet,  would  suddenly  drop  on  their 
knees ;  but  the  pain  caused  by  that  position  would  soon  force 
them  to  rise  again,  and  struggle  up  the  ascent.  An  half  hour 
of  such  traveling  passed  us  over  the  stony  surface  to  the 
smooth  grassy  swells,  the  surface  of  which  was  earthy  and 
pleasant  to  the  lacerated  feet  of  our  horses. 

Next  day  Farnham  came  to  the  camp  of  an  Indian  and 
his  wife  and  children.  In  the  evening  he  sat  with  the  family. 

The  wife  presented  a  dish  of  meat  to  her  husband,  and 
one  to  myself.  There  was  a  pause.  The  woman  seated  her 
self  between  her  children.  The  Indian  then  bowed  his  head 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

and  prayed  to  God !  A  wandering  savage  in  Oregon  calling 
upon  Jehovah  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ!  After  the 
prayer,  he  gave  meat  to  his  children, *and  passed  the  dish  to 
his  wife. 

While  eating,  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  words 
Jehovah  and  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  most  reverential  manner 
led  me  to  suppose  they  were  conversing  on  religious  topics, 
and  thus  they  passed  an  hour.  Meanwhile,  the  exceeding 
weariness  of  a  long  day's  travel  admonished  me  to  seek 
rest. 

I  had  slumbered,  I  know  not  how  long,  when  a  strain 
of  music  awoke  me.  I  was  about  rising  to  ascertain  whether 
the  sweet  notes  of  Tallis's  Chant  came  to  these  solitudes 
from  earth  or  sky,  when  a  full  recollection  of  my  situation, 
and  of  the  religious  habits  of  my  host,  easily  solved  the 
rising  inquiry,  and  induced  me  to  observe  instead  of  dis 
turbing.  The  Indian  family  was  engaged  in  its  evening  de 
votion.  They  were  singing  a  hymn  in  the  Nez  Perces  lan 
guage.  Having  finished  it,  they  all  bowed  their  faces  upon 
the  buffalo  robes,  and  Crickie  prayed  long  and  fervently. 
Afterwards  they  sang  another  hymn  and  retired.  This  was 
the  first  breathing  of  religious  feeling  that  I  had  seen  since 
leaving  the  States. 

Next  day  the  traveler  was  at  Wai-i-lat-pu. 

Another  year  passed  before  two  of  the  wagons  left  by 
the  wayside  by  Dr.  Whitman  were  picked  up.  In  1840, 
Joseph  Meek,  the  noted  trapper,  with  a  companion  named 
Newell,  decided  to  retire  to  a  farm  on  the  Willamette. 
Taking  the  two  wagons  left  by  Dr.  Whitman  at  Fort  Hall, 
they  packed  them  with  their  goods  and  their  families,  and 
started  for  Walla  Walla.  Nicholas  Craig  and  several  other 
mountain  men  accompanied  the  party.  Meek  drove  a  team, 
of  four  horses  and  one  mule.  Craig  drove  a  team  of  four 
horses,  and  Newell,  as  the  leader  of  the  train,  was  mounted 
on  a  horse. 

The  journey  was  no  easy  one,  extending  as  it  did  over 
immense  plains  of  lava,  round  impassable  canyons,  over 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  217 

rapid  unbridged  rivers,  and  over  mountains  hitherto  be 
lieved  to  be  passable  only  for  pack  trains.13  The  honor 
which  has  heretofore  been  accorded  to  the  Presbyterian  mis 
sionaries  solely,  of  opening  a  wagon  road  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Columbia  River,  should  in  justice  be  di 
vided  with  these  two  mountaineers,  who  accomplished  the 
most  difficult  part  of  this  difficult  journey. 

At  Walla  Walla  the  wagons  were  left,  on  account  of  the 
rainy  season.  The  goods  were  transferred  to  pack-horses 
for  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  During  the  next  year 
one  of  the  wagons  was  taken  the  remainder  of  the  way. 


II.  TRAVEL!  TRAVEL!  TRAVEL! 

Upon  the  lofty  bound  I  stand 

That  parts  the  East  and  West; 
Before  me — lies  a  fairy  land; 

Behind — a  home  of  rest! 
Here  hope  her  wild  enchantment  flings, 
Portrays  all  bright  and  lovely  things, 

My   footsteps   to   allure — 
But  there  in  memory's  light  I   see 
All  that  was  once  most  dear  to  nae — 

My  young  heart's  cynosure ! 

— Mrs.  Laura  M.  Thurston. 

THE  year  before  Meek's  attempt  to  take  the  Whitman 
wagons  to  the  Willamette,  F.  A.  Wislizenus  made  the 
journey  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia  in  company 
with  a  caravan  of  fur  traders.  The  story  of  his  trip  was 
told  in  his  diary.14  In  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters 
in  the  diary,  Dr.  Wislizenus  wrote  of  the  beginning  of  the 
journey  and  the  organization  of  the  caravan: 

I  went  up  the  Missouri  on  the  steamboat  St.  Peters  to 
Chouteau's  Landing.  Our  trip,  which  lasted  six  days,  be 
cause  the  water  was  at  a  very  low  stage,  offered  nothing  of 
special  interest. 

The  border  village,  West  Port,  is  six  miles  distant  from 
Chouteau's  Landing.  There  I  intended  to  await  the  de 
parture  of  this  year's  annual  caravan.  The  village  has  per 
haps  thirty  or  forty  houses,  and  is  only  a  mile  from  the 
western  border  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  It  is  the  usual 
rendezvous  for  travelers  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  is 
Independence,  twelve  miles  distant  for  those  journeying  to 
Santa  Fe. 

I  bought  a  horse  and  a  mule,  the  former  to  ride,  the  latter 

218 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  219 

for  my  baggage;  and  made  other  preparations  necessary 
for  my  journey. 

On  May  4th  the  different  parties  who  were  to  join  the 
expedition  met  for  their  first  night  camp  at  Sapling  Grove, 
about  eight  miles  from  West  Port.  .  .  . 

My  first  day's  journey  began  under  evil  auspices,  for  I 
had  not  yet  learned  to  pack  my  mule.  The  usual  way  of 
doing  it  is  this:  The  baggage  is  divided  into  two  equal 
parts,  each  part  firmly  bound  up,  and  hung  by  loops  on 
either  side  of  the  yoke-shaped  pack  saddle.  The  whole  is 
further  fastened  by  the  so-called  "lash-rope,"  of  stout 
buffalo  leather,  which  is  first  wound  around  the  barrel  of 
the  animal,  and  then  in  diamond  shaped  turns  as  firmly  as 
possible  around  the  pack.  My  baggage  weighed  1 50  to  200 
pounds,  a  quite  ordinary  load  for  a  mule ;  but  I  had  not  di 
vided  the  burden  properly,  so  that  I  had  to  repack  repeated 
ly  on  the  road.  It  was  well  toward  evening  when  I  reached 
the  camp,  where  the  others  already  had  arrived. 

Our  caravan  was  small.  It  consisted  of  only  twenty- 
seven  persons.  Nine  of  them  were  in  the  service  of  the 
Fur  Company  of  St.  Louis  (Chouteau,  Pratte  and  Com 
pany),  and  were  to  bring  the  merchandise  to  the  yearly 
rendezvous  on  the  Green  river.  Their  leader  was  Mr. 
Harris,  a  mountaineer  without  special  education  but  with 
five  sound  senses 'that  he  well  knew  how  to  use.  All  the  rest 
joined  the  expedition  as  individuals.  Among  them  were 
three  missionaries,  two  of  them  accompanied  by  their  wives, 
whom  a  Christian  zeal  for  converting  the  heathen  urged  to 
the  Columbia.  Some  others  spoke  of  a  permanent  settle 
ment  on  the  Columbia ;  again,  others  intended  to  go  to  Cali 
fornia,  and  so  on.  Almost  all,  however,  were  actuated  by 
some  commercial  motive.  The  majority  of  the  party  were 
Americans;  the  rest  consisted  of  French  Canadians,  a  few 
Germans,  and  a  Dane. 

The  Fur  Company  transported  its  goods  on  two-wheeled 
carts,  of  which  there  were  four,  each  drawn  by  two  mules, 
and  loaded  with  800  to  900  pounds.  The  rest  put  their 
packs  on  mules  or  horses,  of  which  there  were  fifty  to  sixty 
in  the  caravan. 

Our  first  camp,  Sapling  Grove,  was  in  a  little  hickory 


220         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

wood,  with  fresh  spring  water.  Our  animals  we  turned 
loose  to  graze  in  the  vicinity.  To  prevent  them  from  stray 
ing  far,  either  the  two  fore  feet,  or  tlie  forefoot  and  Hind- 
foot  of  one  side  are  bound  together  with  so-called  "hobbles/* 
In  order  that  they  may  easily  be  caught,  they  drag  a  long 
rope  of  buffalo  leather  (trail  rope).  At  night  stakes 
(pickets)  are  driven  into  the  earth  at  some  distance  from 
each  other,  and  the  animals  are  fastened  to  them  by  ropes. 

After  we  had  attended  to  our  animals,  and  had  eaten 
supper,  we  sprawled  around  a  fire  and  whiled  away  the 
evening  with  chatting  and  smoking;  then  wrapped  ourselves 
in  our  woolen  blankets — the  only  bed  one  takes  with  one — 
and  slept  for  the  first  time  under  our  little  tents,  of  which 
we  had  seven. 

At  dawn  the  leader  rouses  the  camp  with  an  inharmoni 
ous:  "Get  up!  Get  up!  Get  up!"  Every  one  rises.  The 
first  care  is  for  the  animals.  They  are  loosed  from  their 
pickets  and  allowed  an  hour  for  grazing.  Meanwhile  we 
prepare  our  breakfast,  strike  our  tents,  and  prepare  for  he 
start.  The  animals  are  driven  in  again,  packed  and  saddled. 

We  move  off  in  corpore.  We  proceed  at  a  moderate  pace, 
in  front  the  leader  with  his  carts,  behind  him  in  line  long 
drawn  out  the  mingled  riders  and  pack  animals.  .In  the 
early  days  of  the  journey  we  are  apt  to  lead  the  pack  animals 
by  rope ;  later  on  we  leave  them  free  and  drive  them  be  fore  us. 

At  first  packing  causes  novices  much  trouble  on  the  way. 
Here  the  towering  pack  leans  to  one  side ;  there  it  topples 
under  the  animal's  belly.  At  one  time  the  beast  stands  stock 
still  with  its  swaying  load ;  at  another  it  rushes  madly  off, 
kicking  out  till  it  is  free  of  its  burden.  But  pauseless,  like 
an  army  over  its  fallen,  the  train  moves  on.  With  bottled- 
up  wrath  the  older  men,  with  raging  and  swearing  the 
younger  ones,  gather  up  their  belongings,  load  the  beast 
afresh,  and  trot  after  the  column. 

Toward  noon  a  rest  of  an  hour  or  two  is  made,  if  a  suit 
able  camp  can  be  found,  the  chief  requisites  being  fresh 
water,  good  grass,  and  sufficient  wood.  We  unload  the 
beasts  to  let  them  graze,  and  prepare  a  mid-day  meal.  Then 
we  start  off  again,  and  march  on  till  toward  sunset. 

We  set  up  the  tents,  prepare  our  meal,  lie  around  the  fire, 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

and  then,  wrapped  in  our  woolen  blankets,  commit  our 
selves  to  our  fate  till  the  next  morning.  In  this  way  twenty 
to  twenty-five  miles  are  covered  daily. 

The  only  food  the  animals  get  is  grass.  For  ourselves, 
we  take  with  us  the  first  week  some  provisions,  such  as 
ham,  ship-biscuit,  tea  and  coffee.  Afterwards,  we  depend 
on  hunting. 

Not  until  1842  did  as  many  as  one  hundred  homeseekers 
win  their  way  to  the  end  of  the  Oregon  Trail,  but  in  1843 
the  number  approached  one  thousand.  Peter  H.  Burnett 15 
of  Weston,  Missouri,  was  one  of  that  year's  emigrants. 
Among  his  neighbors  he  organized  a  wagon  company,  and 
on  May  8,  1843,  ne  went  to  the  rendezvous  near  Independ 
ence,  with  two  ox  wagons,  a  small  two-horse  wagon,  four 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  two  mules. 

The  start  from  Independence  was  made  on  May  22. 

The  weather  being  clear,  and  the  road  as  good  as  pos 
sible,  the  day's  journey  was  most  delightful.  The  white- 
sheeted  wagon  and  the  five  teams,  moving  in  the  wilderness 
of  green  prairie,  made  the  most  lovely  appearance.  The 
place  was  very  beautiful;  and  no  scene  appeared  to  our  en 
thusiastic  vision  more  exquisite  than  the  sight  of  so  many 
wagons,  tents,  fires,  cattle,  and  people,  as  were  here  col 
lected.  At  night  the  sound  of  joyous  music  was  heard  in 
the  tents.  Our  long  journey  thus  began  in  sunshine  and 
song,  in  anecdote  and  laughter,  but  these  all  vanished  before 
we  reached  its  termination. 

Of  the  journey  across  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  Mr. 
Burnett  said: 

One  great  difficulty  in  this  part  of  the  trip  was  the 
scarcity  of  fuel.  Sometimes  we  found  dry  willows,  some 
times  we  picked  up  pieces  of  driftwood  along  the  way, 
which  we  put  into  our  wagons,  and  hauled  them  until  we 
needed  them.  At  many  points  of  the  route  up  the  Platte 
we  had  to  use  buffalo  chips.  By  cutting  a  trench  some 
ten  inches  deep,  six  inches  wide,  and  two  feet  long,  we  were 


222         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERB   . 

enabled  to  get  along  with  very  little  fuel.  At  one  or  two 
places  the  wind  was  so  severe  that  w<e  were  forced  to  use 
the  trenches  in  order  to  make  a  fire  at  all. 

On  the  27th  of  June  our  people  had  halted  for  lunch  at 
noon,  and  to  rest  the  teams  and  allow  the  oxen  to  graze. 
Our  wagons  were  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  river, 
and  were  strung  out  in  line  to  the  distance  of  one  mile. 
While  taking  our  lunch  we  saw  seven  buffalo  bulls  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  coming  toward  us,  as  if  they  in 
tended  to  cross  the  river  in  the  face  of  our  whole  caravan. 
When  they  arrived  on  the  opposite  bank  they  had  a  full 
view  of  us;  and  yet  they  deliberately  entered  the  river, 
wading  a  part  of  the  distance,  and  swimming  the  remainder. 
When  we  saw  that  they  were  determined  to  cross  at  all 
hazards,  our  men  took  their  rifles,  formed  in  line  between 
the  wagons  and  the  river,  and  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  animals.  So  soon  as  they  rose  the  bank,  they  came  in 
a  rush,  broke  boldly  through  the  line  of  the  men,  and  bore 
to  the  left  of  the  wagons.  Three  of  them  were  killed,  and 
most  of  the  others  wounded. 

On  July  i,  the  party  was  about  to  cross  the  South  Fork 
of  the  Platte. 

We  made  three  boats  by  covering  our  wagon  boxes  or 
beds  with  green  buffalo  hides  sewed  together,  stretched 
tightly  over  the  boxes,  flesh  side  out,  and  tacked  on  with 
large  tacks,  and  the  boxes,  thus  covered,  were  turned  up  to 
the  sun  until  the  hides  were  thoroughly  dry.  The  process 
of  drying  green  hides  had  to  be  repeated  several  times. 

As  far  as  Fort  Hall  the  trail  was  good.  We  had  yet  to 
accomplish  the  untried  and  most  difficult  portion  of  our  long 
and  exhaustive  journey.  We  could  not  anticipate  at  what 
moment  we  might  be  compelled  to  abandon  our  wagons  in 
the  mountains,  pack  our  scant  supplies  on  our  four  oxen, 
and  make  our  way  on  foot  through  the  terribly  rough  coun 
try  as  best  we  could.  We  fully  comprehended  the  situation, 
but  we  never  faltered  in  our  inflexible  determination  to  ac 
complish  the  trip,  if  within  the  limits  of  possibility,  with  the 
resources  at  our  command.  Dr.  Whitman  assured  us  that 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

we  could  succeed,  and  encouraged  and  aided  us  with  every 
means  in  his  power. 


The  trip  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  1691  miles,  required  147 
days.  The  average  trip  per  day  was  thus  less  than  twelve 
miles.  The  emigrants  paused  at  Dr.  Whitman's  mission 
to  rest  and  lay  in  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions.  There 
were  those  who  cried  out  that  the  missionary  was  exploiting 
them,  that  he  had  urged  them  to  go  that  way  for  his  own 
profit.  Was  he  not  selling  wheat  at  a  dollar  a  bushel  and 
potatoes  at  forty  cents?  In  Missouri  they  had  sold  wheat 
for  sixty  cents  a  bushel  and  potatoes  for  twenty-five  cents. 
There  were  those  who  refused  to  listen  to  the  explanation 
made  to  them  that  conditions  were  quite  different,  and  they 
refused  to  buy.  Later,  it  became  necessary  for  the  wise 
purchasers  to  divide  with  those  who  had  failed  to  supply 
their  needs  because  of  their  suspicions  of  Dr.  Whitman. 

But  many  emigrants  understood  better  the  spirit  of  the 
missionary  of  Wai-i-lat-pu.  On  his  return  from  his  trip 
of  1842  to  Washington,  where  he  outlined  a  plan  for  a 
territorial  government  for  the  country  of  his  adoption,  he 
inspired  a  large  company  to  go  with  him  to  the  West.  Of 
his  activities  on  this  trip  one  who  knew  him  said: 

He  was  the  ministering  angel  to  the  sick,  helping  the 
weary,  encouraging  the  wavering,  cheering  the  tired 
mothers,  setting  broken  bones,  and  mending  wagons.  He 
was  in  the  front,  in  the  center,  and  in  the  rear.  He  was  in 
the  river,  hunting  out  fords,  through  the  quicksands,  in 
the  desert  place  looking  for  water  and  grass,  among  the 
mountains  hunting  for  passes  never  before  trodden  by  white 
men.  At  noontide  and  at  midnight  he  was  on  the  alert  as 
if  the  whole  line  was  his  own  family,  and  as  if  all  the  flocks 
and  herds  were  his  own.  For  all  this  he  never  asked  nor 
expected  a  dollar  from  any  source,  and  especially  did  he 
feel  repaid  at  the  end,  when,  standing  at  his  mission  home, 
hundreds  of  his  fellow  pilgrims  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
thanked  him  with  tears  in  their  eyes  for  all  he  had  done. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

At  Fort  Hall,  Captain  Grant,  the  servant  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company,  tried  to  discourage,  the  emigrants  from 
taking  their  wagons  and  farm  tools  with  them.  He  pointed 
to  a  yard  full  of  wagons  and  tools  which  other  settlers  had 
left  behind.  The  emigrants  were  ready  to  do  as  he  asked, 
until  Whitman  promised  to  help  them  through  the  moun 
tains,  wagons  and  all. 

How  he  succeeded  in  the  task  he  set  himself  may  be 
judged  from  a  single  incident  of  the  way,  after  Fort  Hall 
had  been  left  behind : 

When  the  emigrants  reached  the  Snake  River,  Dr.  Whit 
man  proceeded  to  fasten  wagons  together  in  one  long  string, 
the  strongest  in  the  lead.  As  soon  as  the  teams  were  in  posi 
tion,  he  tied  a  rope  around  his  waist,  and,  starting 'his  horse 
into  the  current,  swam  over.  He  called  to  others  to  follow 
him,  and,  when  they  had  force  enough  to  pull  at  the  rope, 
the  lead  team  was  started  in,  and  all  were  drawn  over  in 
safety ;  as  soon  as  the  leading  teams  were  able  to  get  foot 
hold  on  the  bottom,  all  were  safe,  as  they,  guided  by  the 
strong  arms  of  the  men  pulling  at  the  rope,  pulled  the 
weaker  ones  along. 

One  of  the  members  of  this  company  of  1843  was  Jesse 
Applegate.  In  his  journal  of  the  trip  16  he  gave  a  pleasing 
picture  of  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  a  long  day: 

It  is  now  one  o'clock;  the  bugle  has  sounded,  and  the 
caravan  has  resumed  its  westward  journey.  It  is  in  the 
same  order  but  the  evening  is  far  less  animated  than  the 
morning  march ;  a  drowsiness  has  fallen  apparently  on  man 
and  beast;  teamsters  drop  asleep  on  their  perches  and  even 
when  walking  by  the  teams,  and  the  words  of  command  are 
now  addressed  to  the  slowly  creeping  oxen  in  the  soft  tones 
of  women  or  the  piping  treble  of  children,  while  the  snores 
of  the  teamsters  make  a  droning  accompaniment.  But  a 
little  incident  broke  the  monotony  of  the  march.  An  emi 
grant's  wife,  whose  state  of  health  has  caused  Doctor  Whit 
man  to  travel  near  the  wagon  for  the  day,  is  now  taken  with 
violent  illness.  The  Doctor  has  had  the  wagon  driven  out 


From  Gregg's  "Commerce  of  the  Prairies" 


CARAVAN    ON   THE    MARCH 


From  Bartlett's  ''Texas,  New  Mexico  and  California" 

WAGON   TRAIN   STAMPEDED  BY   WILD   HORSES 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  225 

of  the  line,  a  tent  pitched  and  a  fire  kindled.  Many  con 
jectures  are  being  made  in  regard  to  the  mysterious  proceed 
ing  .  .  .  The  sun  is  now  getting  low  in  the  west,  and  at 
length  the  painstaking  pilot  is  standing  ready  to  conduct  the 
teams  in  the  circle  which  he  has  previously  measured  and 
marked  out,  which  is  to  form  the  invisible  fortification  for 
the  night.  The  leading  wagons  follow  him  so  evenly 
around  the  arch  that  but  a  wagon's  length  separates  them.. 
Each  wagon  follows  in  the  track,  until  its  tongue  and  ox- 
chain  will  perfectly  reach  from  one  to  the  other,  and  so 
accurate  the  measure  and  perfect  the  practice,  that  the 
hindmost  wagon  of  the  train  always  precisely  closes  the 
gateway,  as  each  wagon  is  brought  into  position.  It  is 
dropped  from  its  team  (the  team  being  inside  the  circle), 
the  team  unyoked  and  the  yokes  and  chains  are  used  to 
connect  the  wagon  strongly  with  that  in  front.  Within  ten 
minutes  from  the  time  the  leading  wagon  halted,  the  barri 
cade  is  formed,  the  teams  unyoked  and  driven  out  to  pasture. 
Every  one  is  busy  preparing  fires  of  buffalo  chips  to  cook 
the  evening  meal,  pitching  tents  and  otherwise  preparing  for 
the  night.  There  are  anxious  watchers  for  the  absent 
wagon,  for  there  are  many  matrons  who  may  be  afflicted 
like  its  inmate  before  the  journey  is  over  .  .  .  But  as  the 
sun  goes  down  the  absent  wagon  rolls  into  camp,  the  bright, 
speaking  face  and  cheery  look  of  the  doctor,  who  rides  in 
advance,  declares  without  words  that  all  is  well,  and  both 
mother  and  child  are  comfortable. 

I  would  fain  now  and  here  pay  a  passing  tribute  to  that 
noble  and  devoted  man,  Doctor  Whitman  .  .  .  His  great 
experience  and  indomitable  energy  were  of  priceless  value 
to  the  migrating  column.  His  constant  advice,  which  we 
knew  was  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  road  before  us, 
was  "Travel,  travel,  TRAVEL/'  nothing  else  will  take  you  to 
the  end  of  your  journey;  nothing  is  wise  that  does  not  help 
you  along ;  nothing  is  good  for  you  that  causes  a  moment's 
delay.  His  great  authority  as  a  physician  saved  us  many 
prolonged  and  perhaps  ruinous  delays,  and  it  is  no  dispar 
agement  to  others  to  say  that  to  no  other  individual  are  the 
emigrants  of  1843  so  much  indebted  for  the  successful  con-» 
elusion  of  their  journey  as  to  Doctor  Marcus  Whitman. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Another  pleasing  picture  of  an  evening  on  the  road  was 
given  in  the  diary  of  one  who  later  became  a  member  of 
the  Oregon  Territorial  Legislature,,  who  had  left  Inde 
pendence  with  a  party  May  17,  i843.17  On  July  30  the 
caravan  came  in  sight  of  the  Rockies. 

This  event  was  worthy  of  the  commemoration  of  an  en 
campment,  and  we  accordingly  wound  up  the  line  two  hours 
earlier  than  usual.  The  hunters  of  our  party  had  been 
fortunate  this  day  in  obtaining  some  fine  antelope  and  two 
fat  young  buffaloes,  and  we  set  out  for  a  regular  feast. 
When  the  meal  was  over,  and  when  the  prospective  perils 
which  lay  in  the  entrails  of  those  grim  giants  had  been 
canvassed  again  and  again,  we  broke  from  all  grave  con 
siderations  to  consecrate  the  evening  to  merriment.  The 
night  was  beautiful,  scarcely  a  breath  stirred  the  air,  and 
the  bright  stars  in  the  blue  vault  above  looked  brighter  than 
ever.  The  camp  fires  streaming  upwards  from  the  prairie 
plains  flooded  the  tents  with  their  mellow  light,  and  made 
the  tops  of  the  quadrangular  barricade  of  wagons  look  like 
a  fortification  of  molten  gold.  Jim  Wayne's  fiddle  was  at 
once  in  request,  and  set  after  set  went  in  upon  the  sward 
to  foot  a  measure  to  its  notes.  McFarley  and  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Big  Pigeon  forgot  in  the  moment  all  the  bick 
erings  of  their  ambitions,  and  formed  two  of  a  party 
(amongst  whom  was  my  old  friend,  Green,  the  Missourian,) 
who  listened  to  the  Indian  traditions  of  Captain  Gant,  and 
then  told  their  own  wonderful  stories  in  return.  The 
revelry  was  kept  up  till  a  late  hour,  and  the  result  was  that 
the  whole  party  went  to  bed  worn  out  with  pleasure  and 
fatigue. 

During  the  next  year,  1844,  William  M.  Case  of  Indiana 
joined  the  Oregon  cavalcade.  His  hunger  for  Oregon  dated 
back  to  the  day  when  William  Henry  Harrison,  then  United 
States  Senator,  gave  him  a  copy  of  the  Journal  of  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  expedition  to  the  Columbia.  Over  this  he  used 
to  pore  until  he  knew  it  almost  word  for  word.  When 
he  grew  older  and  announced  his  purpose  to  go  to  the 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  227 

Pacific  coast,  his  father's  only  counsel  was,  "Take  a  wife 
with  you."  18 

He  joined  a  train  of  sixty  wagons  which  crossed  the 
Missouri  at  the  site  of  Omaha,  Nebraska.  There  were  two 
divisions  in  the  company,  and  these  moved  in  parallel  lines, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  half  a  mile  apart,  that  the 
wagons  might  all  be  within  easy  supporting  distance  of  each 
other  in  case  of  attack.  At  night  all  the  wagons  came  to 
gether,  and  formed  a  corral,  the  tents  being  pitched  inside 
of  this.  John  Marshall,  who  discovered  gold  in  California 
four  years  later,  was  a  member  of  the  caravan. 

In  the  Platte  Valley,  a  herd  of  buffaloes  was  seen  com 
ing  toward  the  train.  The  first  warning  was  the  sound  of 
what  many  thought  was  distant  thunder.  The  front  of  the 
line  was  perhaps  half  a  mile  long,  and  moved  onward  like 
a  tornado.  Their  one  chance  of  safety  seemed  to  be  to 
drive  ahead  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  the  hope  of  getting 
out  of  range.  So  the  oxen  were  urged  to  run. 

The  flying  herds  of  the  buffalo  passed  but  a  few  yards 
to  the  rear  of  the  last  wagons;  they  were  going  at  such  a 
rate  that  to  be  struck  by  them  would  have  been  like  the 
shock  of  rolling  bowlders  of  a  ton's  weight. 

Near  Fort  Platte  word  was  received  from  the  commander 
that  they  should  remain  where  they  were.  There  was  a 
company  of  Sioux  Indians  at  the  Fort,  and  he  feared  they 
were  meditating  mischief.  "If  you  have  any  one  with  you 
who  can  understand  Sioux,  send  him  on,"  the  message  con 
cluded. 

So  a  Frenchman  who  understood  the  language  was  sent 
to  the  fort.  He  rode  fearlessly  among  the  Sioux,  of  whom 
there  were  about  three  thousand.  Once  he  heard  an  Indian 
say  how  he  wanted  a  white  man's  horse.  To  him  the  chief 
replied,  "Wait  a  few  days,  until  the  emigrants  come  up, 
and  we  shall  have  all  their  horses." 

Craftily  the  Frenchman  saw  to  it  that  a  report  was 
circulated  among  the  Indians  of  the  death  from  smallpox 
of  one  of  the  approaching  emigrants.  The  alarmed  savages 


228         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

lost  no  time  in  fleeing  from  the  fort,  and  were  not  seen 
there  again  that  summer. 

After  the  Sioux  country  had  been  left  behind  it  was  dis 
covered  that  at  least  one  hundred  of  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  in  the  company  were  worthless  idlers.  The 
work  was  left  to  the  twenty  dependable  men.  The  others 
played  cards,  danced  and  fiddled  all  the  evening,  and  slept 
late  next  day,  until  the  women  called  them.  Finally  the 
twenty  men  who  had  to  rise  at  two  o'clock  each  morning 
to  hunt  the  cattle  which,  in  grazing,  had  wandered  far 
away,  decided  they  could  do  this  no  longer  for  the  one  hun 
dred  idlers.  One  morning  they  left  the  others  behind,  sleep 
ing,  and  continued  their  journey.  Before  night  the  train 
was  in  two  sections,  the  workers  and  the  fiddlers. 


III.    WITH  FRANCIS  PARKMAN  ON  THE  TRAIL 

They  knew  no  dread  of  danger 

When  rose  the  Indian's  yell, 
Right   gallantly  they  struggled, 

Right   gallantly   they    fell: 
From  Alleghany's  summit 

To  the  farthest  western  shore 
These  brave  men's  forms  are  lying 

Where  they  perished  in  their  gore; 
And  not  a  single  monument 

Is  seen  in  all  the  land, 
In  honor  of  the  memory 

Of  that  heroic  band. 

— Charles  A.  Jones. 

No  picture  of  the  Oregon  Trail  is  complete  without  a 
reference  to  Francis  Parkman's  masterly  description  of  the 
first  stages  of  the  journey : 19 

Last  spring,  1846,  was  a  busy  season  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis.  Not  only  were  emigrants  from  every  part  of  the 
country  preparing  for  the  journey  to  Oregon  and  Cali 
fornia,  but  an  unusual  number  of  traders  were  making 
ready  their  wagons  and  outfits  for  Santa  Fe.  The  hotels 
were  crowded,  and  the  gunsmiths  and  saddlers  were  kept 
constantly  at  work  in  providing  arms  and  equipment  for 
the  different  parties  of  travellers.  Almost  every  day  steam 
boats  were  leaving  the  levee  and  passing  up  the  Missouri, 
crowded  with  passengers  on  the  way  to  the  frontier. 

In  one  of  these,  the  Radnor,  .  .  .  my  friend  and  relative, 
Quincy  A.  Shaw,  and  myself  left  St.  Louis  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  April  on  a  tour  of  curiosity  and  amusement  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  boat  was  loaded  until  the  water 
broke  alternately  over  her  guards.  Her  upper  deck  was 
covered  with  large  wagons  of  a  peculiar  form,  for  the 
Santa  Fe  trade,  and  the  hold  was  crammed  with  goods  for 

229 


230        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

the  same  destination.  There,  were  also  the  equipmcfits  and 
provisions  of  a  party  of  Oregon  emigrants,  a  band  of  mules 
and  horses,  piles  of  saddles,  and  a  multitude  of  nondescript 
articles,  indispensable  on  the  prairies.* 

...  In  five  or  six  days  we  began  to  see  signs  of  the  great 
western  movement  that  was  taking  place.  Parties  of  emi 
grants,  with  their  tents  and  wagons,  were  encamped  on 
open  spots  near  the  bank,  on  their  way  to  the  common 
rendezvous  at  Independence. 

The  scene  at  Independence  he  described  thus : 

On  the  muddy  shore  stood  some  thirty  or  forty  dark, 
slawish  looking  Spaniards,  gazing  stupidly  out  from  be 
neath  their  broad  hats.  They  were  attached  to  one  of  the 
Santa  Fe  companies,  whose  wagons  were  crowded  together 
on  the  banks  above.  In  the  midst  of  these,  crouching  over 
a  smouldering  fire,  was  a  group  of  Indians,  belonging  to 
a  remote  Mexican  tribe.  One  or  two  French  hunters  from 
the  mountains,  with  their  long  hair  and  buckskin  dresses, 
were  looking  at  the  boat,  and  seated  on  a  log  close  at  hand 
were  three  men,  with  rifles  lying  across  their  knees.  The 
foremost  of  these,  a  tall,  strong  figure,  with  a  clear,  blue 
eye  and  an  open,  intelligent  face,  might  very  well  represent 
that  race  of  restless  and  intrepid  pioneers  whose  axes  and 
rifles  have  opened  a  path  from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  west 
ern  prairies.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Oregon,  probably  a 
more  congenial  field  to  him  than  any  that  now  remained  on 
this  side  the  great  plains. 

Mr.  Parkman  went  on  to  Kansas  City.    There  he  wrote : 

The  emigrants  .  .  .  were  encamped  on  the  prairies  about 
eight  or  ten  miles  distant,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  or 
more,  and  new  parties  were  constantly  passing  out  from 
Independence  to  join  them.  They  were  in  great  companies, 
holding  meetings,  passing  resolutions,  and  drawing  up  regu 
lations,  but  unable  to  unite  in  the  choice  of  leaders  to  con 
duct  them  across  the  prairie. 

Being  at  leisure  one  day,  I  rode  over  to  Independence. 
The  town  was  crowded.  A  multitude  of  shops  had  sprung 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  231 

up  to  furnish  the  emigrants  and  Santa  Fe  traders  with 
necessaries  for  the  journey;  and  there  was  an  incessant  ham 
mering  and  banging  from  a  dozen  blacksmith  sheds,  where 
the  heavy  wagons  were  being  repaired,  and  the  horses  and 
oxen  shod.  The  streets  were  thronged  with  men,  horses, 
and  mules.  While  I  was  in  the  store,  a  train  of  emigrant 
wagons  from  Illinois  passed  through  to  join  the  camp  on 
the  prairies,  and  stopped  on  the  principal  street.  A  multi 
tude  of  healthy  children's  faces  were  peeping  out  from  un 
der  the  covers  of  the  wagons.  Here  and  there  a  buxom 
damsel  was  seated  on  horseback,  holding  over  her  sunburnt 
face  an  old  umbrella  or  a  parasol,  once  gaudy  enough  but 
now  miserably  faded.  The  men,  very  sober-looking  coun 
trymen,  stood  about  their  oxen. 

Some  time  after  the  beginning  of  the  journey  of  the 
party,  which  was  made  up  in  part  of  Parkman  and  his 
associate,  as  well  as  a  British  captain  and  his  brother  and 
guide,  the  captain  insisted  that  the  plans  of  the  caravan 
must  be  reorganized.  "Our  whole  system  is  wrong,"  he 
said.  "Why,  the  way  we  travel,  strung  out  over  the 
prairie  for  a  mile,  an  enemy  might  attack  the  foremost 
riders  and  cut  them  off  before  the  others  could  come  up. 
.  .  .  Then  we  might  be  attacked  in  camp.  We've  no  senti 
nels,  we  camp  in  disorder;  no  precaution  at  all  to  guard 
against  surprise.  .  .  .  We  ought  to  camp  in  a  hollow 
square,  with  the  fire  in  the  center,  and  have  sentinels,  and 
a  regular  password  appointed  for  every  night.  Beside, 
there  should  be  videttes  riding  in  advance,  to  find  a  place 
for  the  camp  and  give  warning  of  an  enemy." 

Perhaps  it  was  because  of  the  distracting  insistence  of 
the  captain  on  these  precautions,  needless  on  the  first  stages 
of  the  journey,  that  the  caravan  managed  to  get  out  of  the 
direct  track  and  had  to  strike  the  St.  Joseph  Trail,  and 
follow  this  till  it  intersected  the  Oregon  Trail.  For  eight 
days  they  did  not  see  a  human  being,  then  one  night  as  they 
sat  around  the  camp-fire  they  were  gratified  by  hearing  the 
faint  voices  of  men  and  women. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

About  dark  a  sallow-faced  fellow  .  .  .  rode  up"  to  the 
tents  .  .  .  another  followed,  a  stout,  square-built,  intelli 
gent-looking  man,  who  announced  himself  as  leader  of  an 
emigrant  party,  encamped  one  mile  in'advance  of  us.  About 
twenty  wagons,  he  said,  were  with  him;  the  rest  of  his 
party  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  Big  Blue,  quarreling 
among  themselves. 

These  were  the  first  emigrants  that  we  had  overtaken, 
although  we  had  found  abundant  and  melancholy  traces  of 
their  progress  throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  journey. 
Sometimes  we  passed  the  grave  of  one  who  had  sickened 
and  died  on  the  way.  The  earth  was  usually  torn  up,  and 
covered  thickly  with  wolf-tracks.  Some  had  escaped  this 
violation.  One  morning,  a  piece  of  plank,  standing  upright 
on  the  summit  of  a  grassy  hill,  attracted  our  notice,  and 
riding  up  to  it,  we  found  the  following  words  very  rightly 
traced  upon  it,  apparently  with  a  red-hot  piece  of  iron : 

MARY   ELLEN 

Died  May  7,  1845 
Aged  two  months. 

We  were  late  in  breaking  up  our  camp  on  the  following 
morning,  and  scarcely  had  we  ridden  a  mile  when  we  saw, 
far  in  advance  of  us,  drawn  against  the  horizon,  a  line  of 
objects  stretching  at  regular  intervals  along  the  level  ^dge 
of  the  prairie.  An  intervening  swell  soon  hid  them  from 
sight,  until,  ascending  it  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after,  we 
saw  close  before  us  the  emigrant  caravan,  with  its  heavy 
white  wagons  coming  on  in  their  slow  procession,  and  a 
large  drove  of  cattle  following  behind.  Half  a  dozen  yel- 
low-visaged  Missourians,  mounted  on  horseback,  were  curs 
ing  and  shouting  among  them,  their  lank,  angular  propor 
tions  enveloped  in  brown  homespun,  evidently  cut  and  ad 
justed  by  the  hands  of  a  domestic  female  tailor.  As  we  ap 
proached,  they  called  out  to  us:  "How  are  ye,  boys?  Are 
you  for  Oregon  or  California?" 

As  we  pushed  rapidly  past  the  wagons,  children's  faces 
were  thrust  out  from  the  white  coverings  to  look  at  us; 
while  the  care-worn,  thin-featured  matron,  or  the  buxom 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

girl,  seated  in  front,  suspended  the  knitting  on  which  most 
of  them  were  engaged  to  stare  at  us  with  wondering 
curiosity.  By  the  side  of  each  wagon  stalked  the  pro 
prietor,  urging  on  his  patient  oxen,  who  shouldered  heavily 
along,  inch  by  inch,  on  their  interminable  journey. 

That  night  the  dissension  that  had  been  smouldering  in 
the  emigrant  caravan  broke  out,  and  a  portion  of  the  com 
pany  left  and  asked  to  join  Parkman's  party.  They  were 
told  that  the  slow  oxen  would  find  it  difficult  to  keep  pace 
with  Parkman's  mules,  but  the  leader  of  the  disaffected 
emigrants  replied  that  his  oxen  should  keep  up ;  and  if  they 
couldn't,  why,  he  allowed,  he'd  find  out  how  to  make  'em. 

Yet  almost  at  once  the  men  with  the  oxen  went  ahead. 
The  axle-tree  of  the  wagon  of  Parkman's  English  com 
panions  broke  and  let  down  the  vehicle  in  the  bed  of  a  brook. 
During  the  day  required  to  repair  damages,  the  oxen  man 
aged  to  get  so  far  ahead  that  it  was  a  week  before  all  the 
party  were  together  once  more. 

Not  long  after  the  emigrants  had  been  overtaken,  the 
men  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Platte.  There  Park- 
man  wrote: 

/ 

Among  the  emigrants  was  an  overgrown  boy,  some  eigh 
teen  years  old,  with  a  head  as  round  and  about  as  large  as 
a  pumpkin,  and  fever-and-ague  fits  had  dyed  his  face  to  a 
corresponding  color.  He  wore  an  old  white  hat,  tied  under 
his  chin  with  a  handkerchief;  his  body  was  short  and  stout, 
but  his  legs  of  disproportioned  and  appalling  length.  I  ob 
served  him  at  sunset,  breasting  the  hill  with  gigantic  strides, 
and  standing  against  the  sky  on  the  summit  like  a  colossal 
pair  of  tongs.  In  a  moment  after  we  heard  him  screaming 
frantically  behind  the  ridge,  and,  nothing  doubting  that  he 
was  in  the  clutches  of  Indians  or  grizzly  bears,  some  of  the 
party  caught  up  their  rifles  and  ran  to  the  rescue.  His  out 
cries,  however,  proved  but  an  ebullition  of  joyous  excite 
ment;  he  had  chased  two  little  wolf -pups  to  their  burrow, 
and  was  on  his  knees,  grubbing  away  like  a  dog  at  the  mouth 
of  the  hole  to  get  at  them. 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

During  the  night  this  boy  was  the  cause  of  everr  greater 
anxiety : 

It  was  his  turn  to  hold  the  middle-guard,  but  no  sooner 
was  he  called  up  than  he  coolly  arranged  a  pair  of  saddle 
bags  under  a  wagon,  laid  his  head  upon  them,  closed  his 
eyes,  opened  his  mouth  and  fell  asleep.  The  guard  on  our 
side  of  the  camp,  thinking  it  no  part  of  his  duty  to  look 
after  the  cattle  of  the  emigrants,  contented  himself  with 
watching  over  our  horses  and  mules;  the  wolves,  he  said, 
were  unusually  noisy;  but  still  no  mischief  was  forboded, 
but  when  the  sun  rose  not  a  hoof  or  a  horn  was  in  sight. 
The  cattle  were  gone.  While  Tom  was  quietly  sleeping,  the 
wolves  had  driven  them  away. 

When  the  South  Fork  of  the  Platte  was  reached  the  emi 
grants  crossed  the  river  in  advance.  First  the  heavy  ox- 
wagons  plunged  down  the  bank  and  dragged  slowly  over 
the  sand-beds;  sometimes  the  hoofs  of  the  oxen  were 
scarcely  wet  by  the  thin  sheet  of  water;  and  the  next  mo 
ment  the  river  would  be  boiling  against  their  sides,  and 
eddying  around  the  wheels.  Inch  by  inch  they  receded 
from  the  shore,  dwindling  every  moment,  until  at  length 
they  seemed  to  be  floating  far  out  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 
A  more  critical  experiment  awaited  us;  for  our  little  mule- 
cart  was  ill-fitted  for  the  passage  of  so  swift  a  stream.  We 
watched  it  with  anxiety,  till  it  seemed  a  motionless  white 
speck  in  the  midst  of  the  waters ;  and  it  was  motionless,  for 
it  had  stuck  fast  in  a  quicksand.  The  little  mules  were  los 
ing  their  footing,  the  wheels  were  sinking  deeper  and  deeper 
and  the  water  began  to  rise  through  the  bottom  and  drench 
the  goods  within.  All  of  us  who  had  remained  in  the 
hither  bank  galloped  to  the  rescue;  the  men  jumped  into 
the  water,  until  by  much  effort  the  cart  was  extricated, 
and  conveyed  in  safety  across.  .  .  . 

One  more  paragraph  by  Parkman  should  be  quoted: 

It  is  worth  noting  that  on  the  Platte  one  may  sometimes 
see  the  shattered  wrecks  of  ancient  claw-footed  tables,  well 
waxed  and  rubbed,  or  a  massive  bureau  of  carved  oak. 
These,  some  of  them  no  doubt  the  relics  of  ancestral  pros- 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

perity  in  the  colonial  time,  must  have  encountered  strange 
vicissitudes.  Imported,  perhaps,  originally  from  England, 
then,  with  the  declining  fortunes  of  their  owners,  borne 
across  the  Alleghanies  to  the  wilderness  of  Ohio  or  Ken 
tucky;  then  to  Illinois  or  Missouri,  and  now  at  last  fondly 
stowed  away  in  the  family  wagon  for  the  interminable 
journey  to  Oregon.  But  the  stern  privations  of  the  way 
are  little  anticipated.  The  cherished  relic  is  soon  flung  out 
to  scorch  and  crack  upon  the  hot  prairie. 


IV.     LEARNING  BY  BITTER  EXPERIENCE 

Strike  the  tent !  the  sun  has  risen ;  not  a  vapor  streaks  the  dawn, 
And  the  frosted  prairie  brightens  to  the  westward,  far  and  near: 
Prime  afresh  the  trusty  rifle,  sharpen  well  the  hunting  spear — 
For  the  frozen  sod  is  trembling,  and  the  noise  of  hoofs  I  hear ! 

Myriad  hoofs  will  scar  the  prairie,  in  our  wild,  resistless  race, 
And  a  sound,  like  mighty  waters,  thunders  down  the  desert's  face : 
Yet  the  rein  may  not  be  tightened,  nor  the  rider's  eye  look  back — 
Death  to  him  whose  speed  should  slacken,  on  the  maddened  bison's 
track. 

—Bayard  Taylor. 

ONE  of  the  emigrant  parties  of  1847  was  ^ar  better 
equipped  than  the  average,  and  the  journey  was  free  from 
the  privations  that  made  the  Oregon  Trail  one  long  night 
mare  to  so  many  people.  Hugh  Cosgrove  was  a  member 
of  the  company  of  thirteen  families,  which  started  from 
Illinois  in  April.20  The  equipment  consisted  of  three  well- 
built  wagons,  drawn  by  three  yokes  of  oxen,  and  a  herd 
of  fifteen  cows. 

When  he  was  ninety  years  old  Mr.  Cosgrove  spoke  of 
the  journey  as  one  long  picnic : 

The  animals  of  the  prairie,  the  Indians,  the  traders  and 
trappers  of  the  mountain  country,  the  progress  of  the  sea 
son,  which  was  exceptionally  mild,  just  about  sufficed  to 
keep  up  the  interest  .  .  .  Almost  all  migration  has  been 
carried  on  in  circumstances  of  danger  and  distress,  but  this 
was,  although  daring  in  the  extreme,  a  summer  jaunt. 

After  making  the  drive  across  Iowa  and  Missouri  in  the 
springtime  the  Missouri  river  was  crossed,  a  week  being 
spent  at  St.  Joseph,  waiting  for  the  horses.  The  company 

236 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  237 

was  organized,  of  course.  There  was  no  lack  of  materials, 
as,  besides  this  party  of  thirteen  families,  there  were  hun 
dreds  of  others  gathering  at  St.  Joseph,  the  emigration  of 
that  year  amounting  to  almost  two  thousand  persons.  A 
train  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  wagons  was  soon  made 
up. 

Almost  immediately  after  starting  trappers  met  them 
and  urged  them  to  break  up  in  parties  of  not  over  fifteen 
wagons  each;  unless  this  was  done,  they  said,  they  would 
never  get  through. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  emigrants  realized  that  the 
advice  was  good.  Two  days  later  the  first  accident  taught 
them  that  "a  trifling  break  down  or  accident  to  one  hinders 
all,  and  the  progress  of  the  whole  body  was  determined  by 
the  slowest  ox/' 

When  Mr.  Cosgrove  separated  his  three  fine  wagons  and 
his  active  young  oxen  and  horses  out  on  the  prairie,  the  cap 
tain  of  the  company  said,  "That  settles  it ;  if  Cosgrove  won't 
stay  by  me,  there  is  no  use  trying  to  keep  the  company 
together." 

Fuel  was  scarce  on  the  plains,  and  it  came  to  be  the 
regular  thing  to  gather  buffalo  chips,  morning  and  evening 
as  camp  was  made,  each  one  in  the  party  taking  his  sack 
and  gathering  enough  for  a  fire.  One  day,  as  the  train 
crested  a  slope,  Mr.  Cosgrove,  seeing  what  seemed  like 
brown,  shaggy  tufts  thickly  studding  the  distance  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach,  exclaimed,  "We  shall  have  plenty  of 
firewood  now!  No  need  of  gathering  chips  to-night!"  He 
thought  he  saw  brushwood.  A  girl  cried  out  that  they  were 
moving.  Sure  enough — what  had  been  taken  for  firewood 
proved  to  be  a  herd  of  buffaloes. 

It  was  not  altogether  safe  to  be  in  the  path  of  such  an 
immense  herd,  and  the  line  was  quickly  halted,  the  wagon 
pins  drawn  and  a  band  of  hunters  quickly  went  out  on 
horseback  to  meet  the  host,  and  also  get  buffalo  meat.  The 
herd  divided,  leaving  the  teams  clear  and  the  oxen  standing 
their  ground.  One  part  went  off  to  the  hills;  the  other  took 


238         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

the  fords  of  the  Platte,  making  the  water  boiL  as  they 
dashed  through.  The  herd  was  so  vast  that  at  least  five 
hours  elapsed  before  the  last  flying  column  had  galloped 
by  ...  What  a  picture — thirteen  families  with  their  oxen 
and  wagons,  sitting  quietly  in  the  midday  blaze,  while  a 
buffalo  herd,  perhaps  one  hundred  thousand  strong,  or 
even  more,  dashed  past  on  either  side. 

The  buffalo  furnished  meat  until  the  salmon  streams  were 
reached.  There  was  always  plenty  of  food. 

On  the  Umatilla,  after  crossing  the  Blue  Mountains,  the 
emigrants  were  visited  by  Doctor  Whitman  and  his  wife 
and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding.  A  cow  was  traded  to  Dr. 
Whitman  for  a  horse.  This  was  only  a  few  months  before 
Dr.  Whitman  and  all  at  the  Wai-i-lat-pu  station  were  killed 
by  the  Indians. 

At  the  Columbia  river  bateaux  were  waiting,  these  hav 
ing  been  sent  from  Vancouver  by  those  who  had  heard  of 
the  coming  of  the  party.  The  voyage  down  the  stream  was 
quite  comfortable.  The  wagons  were  taken  to  pieces  and 
loaded  on  the  boats,  and  the  oxen  were  driven  by  the  old 
trail  along  the  Columbia. 

James  McKay,  one  of  the  company,  not  being  able  to  hire 
a  boat,  built  a  raft.  Others  went  over  the  mountains. 

A  trip  of  an  entirely  different  kind  was  that  made  in 
1850  by  Henry  J.  Coke  and  his  companions,  visitors  from 
England  who  planned  to  hunt  big  game  on  the  Oregon 
Trail.21  After  a  season  in  the  East,  the  party  reached  St. 
Louis,  There  the  journal  was  begun: 

May  28,  1850.  I  began  to  think  we  never  should  get 
away  from  St.  Louis.  Fresh  obstacles  to  our  departure 
seemed  to  rise  every  day.  The  emigrants  are  the  cause  of 
this.  Horses,  mules,  grass,  game,  are  daily  becoming 
scarce  through  them.  For  one  of  my  horses  I  have  paid 
$125,  and  for  a  mule  $140.  Three  years  ago  I  could  have 
bought  the  two  for  less  than  half  of  what  I  have  given  for 
either.  Men  and  guides  are  equally  difficult  to  procure.  .  . 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  239 

Pope  says : 

Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  wants  that  little  long. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  had  Mr.  Pope  ever  made 
preparations  for  a  trip  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  he 
would  have  made  the  proviso  that  this  journey  was  by  no 
means  to  be  included  in  his  conception  of  the  ordinary 
seven-stage  journey  of  life. 

.  .  .  We  have  nine  mules,  eight  horses,  and  two  waggons. 
The  party  consists  of  my  friend  Fred,  ...  a  British  parson 
and  .  .  .  myself,  four  young  Frenchmen  of  St.  Louis,  Fils, 
a  Canadian  voyageur  and  Fred's  valet-de-champs.  The  ser 
vants  were  changed  from  time  to  time  during  the  trip. 

The  Englishman  looked  dubiously  on  the  one  thousand 
pounds  of  baggage.  "We  have  in  all  a  little  less  than  4000 
pounds,"  he  said,  "and  judging  from  the  size  of  the 
waggons,  I  should  think  they  are  licensed  to  carry  only 
three  at  the  most.'* 

The  outfitting  expenses  proved  to  be  about  $1000  each. 
It  was  hoped  that  this  amount  would  carry  them  through. 
This  proved  to  be  a  mistake.  "The  want  of  management, 
the  purchase  of  useless  luxuries,  and  the  fact  of  money 
being  comparatively  no  great  object,  combined  to  make  our 
expense  more  than  double  the  usual  outlay  of  emigrants," 
the  leader  wrote. 

The  wagons  were  loaded  at  St.  Joseph,  after  a  journey 
from  St.  Louis  by  steamer.  The  inexperience  of  these 
travelers  was  evident  when  the  guide  secured  at  St.  Joseph 
on  looking  over  the  equipment  after  the  start,  announced 
that  he  would  need  to  return  to  town  for  rope,  picket-pins, 
harness,  straps,  and  many  other  things  that  had  not  been 
provided. 

When  the  journey  was  well  begun,  entries  like  these  were 
made  in  the  author's  journal : 

Roads  hilly  and  very  bad.  Mules  obstinate.  The  large 
waggon  turns  out  to  be  twice  the  weight  it  ought  to  be,  and 


240         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

gets  fixed  in  consequence  at  the  first  steep  hill.  Begin  to 
lighten  load.  Send  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  flour 
to  Savannah,  and  sell  one  hundred  pounds  lead  and  one 
hundred  pounds  sugar  to  a  farmer  -we  met  on  the  road. 
Must  eat  literally  a  load  of  salt  pork  before  the  wagons 
are  light  enough  to  travel  fast. 

Roads  worse  than  ever.  Heavy  waggon  as  usual  stuck  in 
a  rut,  and  is  nearly  upset.  Discharge  cargo,  and  find  it 
hard  work  to  carry  the  heavy  boxes  up  the  hill. 

Hind  wheel  of  small  wagon  breaks  to  pieces  .  .  .  An  old 
Yorkshireman,  with  his  flocks  and  herd  and  family  .  .  . 
who  .  .  .  was  now  on  his  way  out  for  the  second  time  .  .  . 
in  five  minutes  made  a  wheel  far  stronger  than  either  of 
the  remaining  three. 

While  crossing  a  shaky  bridge,  two  wheels  of  the  large 
waggon  were  broken.  Settlers  near  by  who  saw  the  accident 
lent  a  large  cart  to  carry  the  things  to  the  next  place  where 
wood  could  be  secured. 

One  wheel  a  day  is  but  a  moderate  average  of  breakages. 
.  .  .  The  mules  we  have  packed  with  the  load  of  the  small 
wagon;  all  ran  away  through  the  thicket  after  the  horses, 
and  with  the  help  of  the  trees,  managed  to  throw  the  packs 
off  and  tear  them  to  pieces.  Have  the  greatest  difficulty  to 
catch  the  animals,  and  unpack  them,  and  by  the  time  we 
have  done  so,  the  teams  are  too  tired  to  go  on.  An  ox- 
wagon  passes,  and  we  borrow  the  oxen  to  pull  us  up  a  bad 
hill. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  the  men  passed  about  two 
hundred  wagons  of  emigrants.  Here  they  left  behind  the 
salt  pork.  It  was  decided  that  it  had  been  foolish  to  bring 
so  much  chocolate  and  ginger  beer  along. 

When  near  Council  Bluffs  the  leader  wrote: 

Hitherto  our  troubles  have  been  somewhat  numerous ;  we 
have  broken  down  or  met  with  some  disaster  every  day. 
Nearly  all  of  our  men  have  turned  out  to  be  perfectly  use 
less.  The  roads  have  been  almost  impassable,  owing  to  the 
heavy  rains ;  and  we  have  more  than  once  taken  the  longest 
and  worst  by  mistake;  but  the  most  serious  grievance  is 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL 

that  our  mules  are  beginning  to  be  galled.  Many  people 
have  turned  back  before  they  got  thus  far.  I  am  sure  we 
find  it  sufficiently  uninteresting  and  disagreeable  to  make 
us  follow  their  example;  yet,  nevertheless,  we  are  deter 
mined  if  possible  to  go  through,  and  are  fully  prepared  to 
give  up  the  wagon  and  all  other  luxuries  rather  than  relin 
quish  the  trip. 

The  next  step  in  lightening  the  load  was  to  sell  the 
wagon  to  an  Indian  agent,  as  well  as  forty  pounds  of 
powder,  one  hundred  pounds  of  lead,  quantities  of  odds  and 
ends,  and  all  the  ginger  beer. 

At  the  Elk-Horn  river  a  raft  was  built  of  logs,  collected 
with  difficulty,  lashed  together  with  lariats.  Three  hundred 
pounds'  weight  could  be  ferried  over  on  this  raft.  To  take 
the  animals  across  it  was  necessary  for  the  men  to  swim  the 
river  eight  or  nine  times,  taking  one  horse  at  a  time,  or 
driving  two  or  three  of  flogging  and  shouting  behind  them. 

Near  Fort  Laramie  the  men  were  told  that  a  few  weeks 
before  an  emigrant  had  passed  on  his  way  to  California, 
with  no  conveyance  but  his  legs,  and  no  baggage  but  what 
he  wheeled  in  a  barrow;  that  he  overtook  all  who  traveled 
with  horses  or  oxen,  and  that  as  long  as  his  health  lasted 
he  could  walk  twenty-five  miles  a  day. 

There  were  so  many  differences  of  opinion  in  the  party 
that  Fred  and  Mr.  Coke  agreed  to  separate. 

Our  principle  of  traveling  differed  in  such  a  variety  of 
ways;  one  thought  it  necessary  to  start  early  and  stop  in 
the  middle  of  the  day;  the  other  thought  it  better  to  start 
later,  and  make  no  halt  till  dark.  One  thought  it  best  to 
picket  the  horses  at  night;  the  other  was  for  letting  them 
run  loose.  One  insisted  upon  keeping  a  watch;  the  other 
thought  it  would  increase  our  fatigue  without  adding  to  our 
safety. 

Two  parties  were  made  up,  each  led  by  one  of  the  English 
men;  the  horses  and  provisions  were  divided.  The  parson 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

and  Mr.  Coke  went  together,  taking  four  mules  for  racking 
and  one  each  to  ride. 

Fred  and  his  party  went  on,  determined  to  make  thirty 
or  thirty-five  miles  a  day,  while  Mr.  Coke  planned  to  make 
no  more  than  twenty-five. 

The  difficulties  proved  to  be  greater  than  ever,  and  Mr. 
Coke  wished  he  had  traveled  alone,  with  two  animals  to 
ride  and  one  pack  mule. 

Next  day  a  Mormon  train  overtook  the  party.  One  old 
man  said,  "You  chaps  don't  seem  in  no  hurry  anyhow." 
"We  had  passed  each  other  on  the  road  half  a  dozen  times," 
Mr.  Coke  wrote.  "I  suppose  no  mule  train  but  ours  had  ever 
been  seen  more  than  once  by  any  party  of  Mormons  before." 

Passed  nine  men  on  the  way  from  California  to  the  East. 
I  put  some  questions  to  them,  but  received  very  curt  an 
swers.  They  were  a  rough-looking  set,  and  were  as  rude 
in  manner  as  in  appearance.  All  I  could  learn  was  that 
they  had  five  mules  laden  with  gold,  packed  in  small  square 
leather  cases,  and  that  the  renowned  Kit  Carson  was  acting 
as  guide  to  the  party. 

After  crossing  the  Continental  divide,  provisions  became 

scarce,  forage  for  the  animals  was  almost  entirely  lacking, 

and  one  by  one  they  began  to  die.    It  was  hoped  to  reach 

Fort  Hall,  though  it  was  feared  that  it  might  be  necessary 

^  to  make  the  last  bit  of  the  way  on  foot.    Mr.  Coke  wrote: 

Decided  to  throw  away  every  superfluous  article,  and  so 
lighten  the  packs.  Left  the  ground  strewn  with  warnings 
for  future  emigrants.  At  least  half  of  baggage  left  behind. 

August  24.  ...  As  soon  as  the  sun  began  to  be  warm 
we  halted  our  animals.  Poor  beasts!  They  hunted  far 
and  wide,  but  found  not  a  blade  of  grass,  not  a  drop  of 
water.  After  we  had  eaten  our  raw  ham  the  wind  died 
away,  and  the  heat  became  insufferable.  The  rays  from  the 
burning  sand  were  hardly  less  fierce  than  those  which  came 
direct  from  the  sun.  My  pain  was  increased  tenfold  by  the 
want  of  water.  I  crawled  to  the  top  of  a  hill  and  covered 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  243 

my  head  with  a  blanket;  this  protected  me  from  being 
scorched,  but  nearly  suffocated  me  for  want  of  air.  Never 
in  the  deserts  of  the  east,  nor  within  the  tropics  in  the  west, 
have  I  suffered  from  heat  as  I  did  this  day. 

At  last  Green  river  was  reached,  "and  men,  mules  and 
horses  rushed  on  at  full  gallop  nor  stopped  till  they  were 
knee-deep  in  the  middle  of  the  welcome  stream." 

The  lateness  of  the  season  led  the  men  to  decide  to  give 
up  California  and  go  on  to  Oregon.  So  they  turned  to 
the  right  soon  after  entering  the  valley  of  Bear  river. 

On  September  3  passed  camp  fires  still  alight.  Since 
the  emigrants  had  left  them  this  morning,  three  bears,  a 
mother  and  her  two  cubs,  had  followed  them  on  the  road 
for  more  than  a  mile.  I  should  think  the  track  of  the  big 
bear's  hind  foot  was  at  least  ten  or  twelve  inches  long.  .  .  . 
In  the  middle  of  the  day  we  overtook  the  emigrant  train, 
consisting  of  six  waggons. 

At  Fort  Hall  provisions  were  sought,  but  there  were 
none  to  spare.  On  September  10  Mr.  Coke  wrote: 

We  came  up  with  the  emigrant  train  we  had  met  the 
other  side  of  Fort  Hall  .  .  .  We  stopped  and  supped  with 
them,  upon  buttermilk  and  bread.  They  complained  bit 
terly  of  the  hardships  of  their  life,  lamenting  their  folly  in 
leaving  comfortable  farms  in  the  States  for  the  uncertainty 
of  finding  better  in  Oregon.  They  seemed  to  think  their 
troubles  would  now  come  to  an  end.  They  had  already 
been  more  than  four  months  on  the  march,  and  they  had 
yet  a  long  way  to  go.  Their  oxen  were  suffering  from  the 
stony  roads,  and  the  men  were  tired  of  their  labor.  We 
encouraged  them  as  much  as  we  could,  and,  by  comparing 
pur  case  with  theirs,  proved  to  them  that  there  were  others 
in  worse  predicaments  than  they.  We  told  them  that,  how 
ever  slow  they  travelled,  they  had  their  homes  and  families 
continually  with  them.  They  were  all  more  or  less  used 
to  some  hardships,  and  driving  oxen  in  a  waggon  was  no 
harder  work  than  driving  the  same  oxen  in  a  plough.  They 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

had  plenty  of  provisions;  their  wives  baked  them  good 
bread,  for  they  carried  stoves  with  them ;  they  were  always 
protected  from  the  weather,  for  if  the  ground  was  too  wet 
they  could  sleep  perfectly  well  in  their  covered  waggon; 
whereas  the  labor  of  packing  mules  three  or  four  times  a 
day,  the  impossibility  of  sending,  as  they  did,  one  of  the 
party  in  advance  to  choose  a  camping  ground,  and  the 
consequent  uncertainty  of  sustaining  the  animals ;  our  weak 
ness,  if  attacked  by  Indians;  the  fatal  results  that  would 
ensue  upon  the  sickness  of  any  one  of  so  small  a  party,  the 
want  of  provisions,  and  the  constant  exposure  from  being 
entirely  without  tents,  were  events  which,  when  combined, 
were  what  few  emigrants  had  ever  undergone. 

On  September  17  a  fatal  attempt  was  made  to  ford  Snake 
river.  Mr.  Coke  was  saved  with  difficulty.  The  servant 
was  drowned.  He  was  a  farmer  from  Ohio,  and  was  going 
on  a  prospecting  trip  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  home  for  his 
wife  and  five  children. 

October  3.  Yesterday  I  met  with  a  disaster  which  dis 
tresses  me  exceedingly.  I  broke  my  pipe,  and  am  neither 
able  to  repair  nor  to  replace  it.  Julius  has  one,  the  fumes  of 
which  we  are  compelled  to  share.  If  this  should  go  (and 
it  is  already  in  four  pieces,  and  bound  up  like  a  mummy)  I 
tremble  to  think  of  the  consequences. 

October  4.  I  could  not  sleep  for  the  cold,  and  yet  I 
dreaded  the  approach  of  daylight,  and  the  tugging  at  the 
frozen  rope  which  it  entailed.  But  there  was  no  help  for 
it.  I  might  lie  in  bed  till  the  sun  was  up,  but  must,  in 
consequence,  be  another  night  in  the  mountains;  and  the 
animals,  who  suffer  more  than  we  do,  could  not  stand  this. 
So  we  tied  them  close  to  the  still  burning  log,  and,  little  by 
little,  with  the  help  of  a  warm  every  minute,  we  got  the 
packs  on.  Poor  beasts!  they  actually  cringed  when  the 
saddle  touched  the  great  raws  on  their  backs;  the  frost  had 
made  them  so  painful.  What  would  I  have  given  for  a 
mouthful  of  hot  tea  or  coffee  before  starting?  But  these 
are  luxuries  we  must  not  think  of.  It  seems  as  if  this  sort 
of  life  were  to  last  forever. 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  245 

Oct.  5.  Passed  an  emigrant  train  of  twelve  waggons 
and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle.  The  poor 
people  looked  half  starved.  They  had  been  restricted  to  a 
fourth  of  their  proper  ration  for  more  than  three  weeks, 
and  could  not  make  what  remained  last  over  eight  or  ten 
days. 

If  Mr.  Coke  should  arrive  at  The  Dalles,  one  hundred 
and  forty  miles  distant,  before  them,  he  promised  to  send 
provisions  to  them. 

On  October  8  the  horse  died,  and  Mr.  Coke  set  out  to 
walk  the  remaining  hundred  miles.  Soon  he  was  cheered 
by  sight  of  the  Columbia.  "Shall  I  ever  forget  that  day's 
walk?"  he  wrote.  "The  sand  was  more  than  a  foot  deep. 
For  every  two  steps  forward,  it  seemed  as  if  you  slipped 
one  step  back.  The  sun  was  hot;  I  had  heavy  boots  on, 
reaching  above  my  knees.  .  .  .  Above  all,  I  was  weak  from 
exhaustion,  having  hardly  tasted  food  since  yesterday 
morning." 

On  October  10  he  found  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia  six  wagons  full  of  emigrants  who  counted  on 
getting  to  The  Dalles  next  day.  They  were  disappointed 
when  told  it  was  still  a  good  five  days'  journey  for  wagons. 

At  last  The  Dalles  were  reached.  There  Mr.  Coke  re 
joined  Fred,  who  had  separated  from  him  soon  after  the 
beginning  of  the  journey.  The  remainder  of  the  trip  was 
made  on  the  Columbia. 

That  danger  and  difficulties  on  the  Oregon  Trail  were 
met  near  the  start  as  well  as  farther  along  the  way  is  illus 
trated  by  the  experience  of  an  unnamed  man  who  told  of 
crossing  the  Missouri  at  Fort  Kearney.22 

Went  up  to  the  ferry.  Mr.  H's  and  Mrs.  S's  wagons 
went  over  safe.  Then  Mr.  S's  family  wagon  and  five  yoke 
of  cattle  and  all  of  Mr.  S's  family  except  two  boys  went 
on  the  ferry  boat,  and  when  they  were  about  half  way 
across  the  boat  began  to  sink.  They  tried  to  drive  the 
cattle  off,  but  could  not  in  time  to  save  the  boat  from  sink- 


246        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 


ing.  My  family  are  still  on  the  east  side  and  I- 
with  his  teams.  We  witnessed  the  scene,  and  could  do 
nothing.  Mrs.  Sands,  the  baby  and  next  youngest  were  all 
under  water,  but  the  men  of  the  boat  got  into  the  river  and 
took  them  out,  and  the  rest  of  the  family  got  up  on  the 
wagon  cover  and  saved  themselves  from  drowning.  Mr. 
R  jumped  overboard  and  thought  he  could  swim  to  shore, 
but  he  was  drowned.  ...  By  the  assistance  of  one  of  the 
other  boats  the  rest  were  saved,  but  we  thought  from  where 
we  were  that  it  was  impossible,  that  they  could  all  be  saved. 
Well,  I  paid  a  man  fifteen  cents  for  taking  my  wife  and 
little  children  across  in  a  skiff.  They  have  no  skiff  at  the 
ferry,  but  they  have  three  good  ferry  boats  that  they  work 
by  hand.  But  the  men  here  are  as  near  heathen  as  they 
can  be,  and  they  go  for  shaving  the  emigrants. 

The  figures  of  emigration  along  'the  Trail  from  1841  to 
1852  has  been  carefully  compiled.23 

At  the  close  of  1841  there  were  in  Oregon,  Americans     400 
The  number  of  emigrants  during  1842  was  105  to     137 

1843  875  to  1,000 

1844  "  700 

1845  "          3,000 

1846  1,350 

1847  4,000  to  5,000 

1848  "  700 

1849  "  4°° 

1850  "  2,000 

1851  "        1,500 

1852  "        2,500 


And  as  a  result  of  this  steady  inflow  of  the  virile  popula 
tion  of  the  East,  Oregon  became  American  territory.  Ben- 
ton24  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Oregon  emigration 
from  the  United  States  "was  not  an  act  of  government  lead 
ing  the  people  and  protecting  them,  but,  like  all  the  other 
great  emigrations  and  settlements  of  that  race  (Anglo- 
Saxon)  on  our  continent,  it  was  the  act  of  the  people,  going 
forward  without  government  aid  or  countenace,  establish- 


THE  OREGON  TRAIL  247 

fng  their  possession,  and  compelling  the  government  to  fol 
low  with  its  shield  and  spread  it  over  them.  So  far  as  the 
action  of  the  government  was  concerned,  it  operated  to 
endanger  our  title  to  the  Columbia,  to  prevent  emigration, 
and  to  incur  the  loss  of  the  country/' 

On  August  5,  1846,  the  Oregon  Country  became  a  part  of 
the  United  States,  and  from  that  day  the  emigrants  who 
were  taking  the  longest  outward  bound  movement  ever 
made  by  an  Aryan  people  knew  that  they  were  only  going 
to  another  section  of  their-  own  land. 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VI 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Conditions,"  p.  211. 

2.  "The  American  Fur  Trader,"  Quoted  in  Fremont  and  '49,  p.  81. ' 

3.  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  and  Zion's  Herald,  March  22, 

1833,  p.  2. 

4.  "Winning  the  Oregon  Country,"  p.  50. 

5.  Ibid,  p.  73- 

6.  "Oregon:  The  Struggle  for  Possession." 

7.  "The  River  of  the  West,"  p.  201. 

8.  Ibid.,  p.  209. 

9.  "Oregon:  The  Struggle  for  Possession,"  p.  146. 

10.  Quoted  in  "A  Lecture  on  the  Oregon  Territory,"  p.  8. 

11.  "Travels  in  the  Great  Western  Prairies,"  p.  77. 

12.  Ibid,  p.  78. 

13.  "The  River  of  the  West,"  p.  279. 

14.  "A  Journey  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  Year  1839,"  p.  27. 

15.  "Recollections  of  an  Old  Pioneer,"  p.  65. 

16.  "A  Day  with  the  Cow  Column  in  1843,"  p.  379. 

17.  "History  of  Oregon,"  p.  81. 

18.  "Recollections  of  William  M.  Case,"  p.  270. 

19.  "The  California  and  Oregon  Trail,"  pp.  9,  14,  46,  71,  94,  107. 

20.  "Reminiscences  of  Hugh  Cosgrove,"  p.  257. 

21.  "A  Ride  Over  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  p.  81. 

22.  "The  Oregon  Trail,"  p.  356. 

23.  Ibid,  p.  370. 

24.  Quoted,  "Fremont  and  '49,"  p.  160. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN :  ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO 
CALIFORNIA 


CROSSING  THE  PLAINS 

What  great  yoked  brutes  with  briskets  low, 
With  wrinkled  neck  of  buffalo, 
With  round,  brown,  liquid,  pleading  eyes, 
That  turned  so  slow  and  sad  to  you, 
That  shone  like  love's  eyes  soft  with  tears, 
That  seemed  to  plead,  and  make  replies, 
The  while  they  bowed  their  necks  and  drew 
The  creaking  load ;  and  looked  at  you. 
Their  sable  briskets  swept  the  ground, 
Their  cloven  feet  kept  sober  sound. 

Two  sullen  bullocks  led  the  line, 
Their  great  eyes  shining  bright  like  wine; 
Two  sullen  captive  kings  were  they, 
That  had  in  time  held  herds  at  bay, 
And  even  now  they  crushed  the  sod 
With  stolid  sense  of  majesty, 
And  stately  stepped  and  stately  tro'd, 
As  if  'twere  something  still  to  be 
Kings  even  in  captivity. 

— JOAQUIN  MILLER. 


I.   A  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  TRAIL 

"I  soon  shall  be  in  'Frisco, 

And  then  I'll  look  around, 
And  when  I  see  the  gold  lumps  there 

IT11  pick  'em  off  the  ground. 
I'll  scrape  the  mountains  clean,  my  boys, 

I'll   drain  the  rivers  dry, 
A  pocket  full  of  rocks  bring  home, 

So,  brothers,  don't  you  cry.* 

THE  overland  route  to  California  followed  the  Oregon 
Trail  from  St.  Joseph  or  Independence,  along  the  Platte 
river,  to  Fort  Laramie,  and,  at  first,  on  to  a  point  about  one 
hundred  miles  from  Fort  Hall,  then  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Humboldt  river.  Later  the  traveler  to  California 
parted  company  at  Bear  river  with  those  who  were  bound 
for  Oregon.  From  the  Humboldt  the  route  was  west  to 
the  Truckee  river,  up  the  stream  to  Truckee  Pass,  then 
down  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains  to  the  Bear  river 
of  California  and  the  Sacramento  Valley.1 

Thomas  J.  Farnham,  in  1843,  £ave  these  clear  directions 
for  those  who  wished  to  go  to  California:  2 

Land  on  the  north  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Platte;  follow 
up  that  stream  to  the  Forks,  400  miles ;  in  this  distance  there 
is  only  one  stream  where  a  raft  will  be  needed,  and  that 
near  the  Missouri ;  all  the  rest  are  fordable.  At  the  Forks, 
take  the  north  side  of  the  North  one;  14  days  travel  to  the 
Black  Hills;  thence  leaving  the  river  bank,  strike  off  in  a 
North  West  direction  to  the  Sweet-Water  trail,  at  Indepen 
dence  Rock,  (a  large  rock  in  the  plains  on  which  the  old 
trappers  many  years  ago  carved  the  word  "Independence" 
and  their  own  names;  oval  in  form) ;  follow  up  the  Sweet- 

*  Stanza  of  a  song  popular  with  the  California  pioneers. 

251 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

water  3  days ;  cross  it  and  go  to  the  head,  eight  or  ten 
days'  travel  this;  then  cross  over  westward  to  the  head 
waters  of  a  small  creek  running  southwardly  into  the  Platte, 
thence  westward  to  Big  Sandy  creek.2  days,  (this  creek  is 
a  large  stream  coming  from  Wind  river  mountain  in  the 
North)  ;  thence  I  day  to  Little  Sandy  Creek — thence  west 
ward  over  3  or  4  creeks  to  Green  River.  Strike  it  at  the 
mouth  of  Horse  creek — follow  it  down  three  days  to  Pilot 
Bute;  then  a  strike  westward  one  day  to  Hams  Fork  of 
Green  River — 2  days  up  Ham's  Fork ;  thence  west  one  day 
to  Muddy  Branch  of  Great  Bear  River — down  it  one  day  to 
Great  Bear  River;  down  this  4  days  to  Soda  Springs;  turn 
to  the  right  up  a  valley  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  Soda 
Springs ;  follow  it  up  to  a  North  West  direction  2  days  to  its 
head ;  then  take  the  left  hand  valley  leading  over  the  dividing 
ridge;  i  day  over  to  the  waters  of  Snake  River  at  Fort 
Hall;  thence  down  Snake  River  20  days  to  the  junction  of 
the  Lewis  and  Clark  Rivers — or  20  days'  travel  westwardly 
by  the  Mary's  River;  thence  through  a  natural  and  easy 
passage  in  the  California  Mountains  to  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  San  Joaquin — a  noble  stream  emptying  into  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco. 

Emigrants  began  to  flock  to  California  over  this  route 
almost  immediately  after  the  war  with  Mexico.  Among  the 
early  emigrants  the  Donner  party  was  notable  because  of 
the  tragic  end  of  the  expedition. 

On  April  15,  1846,  thirty-one  men,  women  and  children 
started  from  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  what  they  thought 
would  be  a  five  months'  journey  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 
James  F.  Reed  organized  the  party,  but  it  took  its  name 
from  the  Donner  brothers,  George  and  Jacob,  neighbors  of 
the  Reeds,  because  of  the  tragic  fate  which  befell  them  on 
the  way. 

There  were  sixteen  juvenile  members  of  the  expedition, 
including  Eliza  Donner,  who  was  five  years  old  at  the 
time,  and  Virginia  Reed,  both  of  whom  later  wrote  stories 
of  the  journey  that  are  as  -absorbing  as  any  of  the  records 
of  pioneer  travel  in  America. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      253 

Virginia  Reed  (Murphy)  has  given  a  picturesque  descrip 
tion  of  the  equipment  provided  by  her  father:3 

Our  family  wagon  .  .  .  was  what  might  be  called  a  two- 
story  wagon  or  "Pioneer  palace  car,"  attached  to  a  regular 
immigrant  train.  My  mother,  though  a  young  woman, 
was  not  strong,  and  had  been  in  delicate  health  for  many 
years,  yet  when  sorrows  and  dangers  came  upon  her  she 
was  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Grandma  Keyes,  who  was 
seventy-five  years  of  age,  was  an  invalid,  confined  to  her 
bed.  Her  sons  in  Springfield,  Gersham  and  James  W. 
Keyes,  tried  to  dissuade  her  from  the  long  and  fatiguing 
journey,  but  in  vain;  she  would  not  be  parted  from  my 
mother,  who  was  her  only  daughter.  So  the  car  in  which 
she  was  to  ride  was  planned  to  give  comfort.  The  en 
trance  was  on  the  side,  like  that  of  an  old-fashioned  stage 
coach,  and  one  stepped  into  a  small  room,  as  it  were,  in 
the  centre  of  the  wagon.  At  the  right  and  left  were  spring 
seats  with  comfortable  high  backs,  where  one  could  sit  and 
ride  with  as  much  ease  as  on  the  seat  of  a  Concord  coach. 
In  this  little  room  was  placed  a  tiny  sheet-iron  stove,  whose 
pipe,  running  through  the  top  of  the  wagon,  was  prevented 
by  a  circle  of  tin  from  setting  fire  to  the  canvas  cover.  A 
board  about  a  foot  wide  extended  over  the  wheels  on  either 
either  side  the  full  length  of  the  wagon,  thus  forming  the 
foundation  for  a  large  and  roomy  second  story  in  which 
were  placed  our  beds.  Under  the  spring  seats  were  com 
partments  in  which  were  stored  many  articles  useful  for 
the  journey,  such  as  a  well  filled  work  basket  and  a  full 
assortment  of  medicines,  with  lint  and  bandages  for  dress 
ing  wounds.  Our  clothing  was  packed — not  in  Saratoga 
trunks — but  in  strong  canvas  bags  plainly  marked.  Some 
of  mama's  young  friends  added  a  looking-glass,  hung  di 
rectly  opposite  the  door,  in  order,  as  they  said,  that  my 
mother  might  not  forget  to  keep  her  good  looks,  and  strange 
to  say,  when  we  had  to  leave  this  wagon,  standing  like  a 
monument  on  the  Salt  Lake  desert,  the  glass  was  still  un 
broken.  I  have  often  thought  how  pleased  the  Indians 
must  have  been  when  they  found  this  mirror  which  gave 
them  back  the  picture  of  their  own  dusky  faces. 


254        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

We  had  two  wagons  loaded  with  provisions.  Every 
thing  in  that  line  was  bought  that  could  be  thought  of.  My 
father  started  with  supplies  enough  to  last  us  through  the 
first  winter  in  California,  had  we  made  the  journey  in  the 
usual  time  of  six  months.  Knowing  that  books  were  al 
ways  scarce  in  a  new  country,  we  also  took  a  good  library 
of  standard  works.  We  even  took  a  cooking  stove  which 
never  had  had  a  fire  in  it,  and  was  destined  never  to  have, 
as  we  cached  it  in  the  desert.  Certainly  no  family  ever 
started  across  the  plains  with  more  provisions  or  a  better 
outfit  for  the  journey;  and  yet  we  reached  California  al 
most  destitute  and  nearly  out  of  clothing. 

According  to  Eliza  Donner  4  the  equipment  provided  by 
her  father  and  her  uncle  was  quite  different.  She  saw 
three  big,  white-covered  wagons  brought  into  the  yard, 
and  watched  her  parents  as  they  loaded  them.  In  one 
wagon  they  placed  seed  and  farming  implements  for  their 
own  use  in  California,  as  well  as  laces,  muslins,  satins  and 
velvets  which  they  hoped  to  trade  for  land.  The  second 
wagon  held  the  supplies  of  food  and  clothing  for  the  jour 
ney,  as  well  as  the  tents  and  other  things  to  be  used  in 
camp,  and  the  bright-colored  garments,  beads,  necklaces, 
looking-glasses,  and  so  forth,  with  which  unfriendly  In 
dians  were  to  be  appeased.  The  third  wagon  was  to  be  the 
family  home  on  wheels.  Each  wagon  was  to  be  drawn  by 
three  yoke  of  sturdy  oxen.  Three  extra  yoke  of  oxen,  five 
saddle  horses,  beef  cattle,  and  a  dog  were  to  follow  the 
wagons. 

It  was  a  happy  moment  for  Eliza  and  her  sisters  when 
the  signal  was  given  to  start.  They  wondered  why  there 
were  tears  in  their  mother's  eyes  as  they  left  the  old  home 
and  passed  the  familiar  orchards  and  the  fields  beyond. 

All  went  well  for  weeks.  On  May  19  the  company  over 
took  the  caravan  of  which  Edwin  Bryant  was  a  member, 
and  were  admitted  to  it  by  unanimous  vote.  The  Donners 
made  quite  an  addition  to  a  company  that  already  numbered 
ninety-eight  fighting  men,  fifty  women,  forty-six  wagons, 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      255 

and  three  hundred  and  fifty  cattle.  In  fact,  the  company 
was  so  large  that  it  was  divided  in  two  parts  for  con 
venience  in  traveling.  These  divisions  were  known  as  the 
California  and  the  Oregon  party. 

That  day  was  a  festive  occasion  in  camp.  "Our  cattle 
were  allowed  to  rest,  while  the  men  were  hunting  and  fish 
ing,  the  women  spread  the  family  washings  on  the  boughs 
and  bushes."  . . .  Eliza  wrote.5  "We  children,  who  had  been 
confined  to  the  wagon  so  many  hours  each  day,  stretched 
our  limbs,  and  scampered  off  on  Mayday  frolics.  We 
waded  the  creek,  made  mud  pies,  and  gathered  posies  in  the 
narrow  glade  between  the  cottonwood,  beech  and  alder 
trees. 

Arrangements  were  made  here  for  the  government  of 
the  emigrant  train,  made  up  of  lawyers,  journalists,  teach 
ers,  students,  farmers  and  day-laborers,  a  minister,  a  car 
riage-maker,  a  cabinet-maker,  a  stone-mason,  a  jeweler, 
and  a  blacksmith.  A  captain  was  chosen  by  all,  and  all 
plans  of  action  and  rules  and  regulations  were  proposed 
at  a  general  meeting,  and  accepted  or  rejected  by  majority 
vote. 

It  was  the  captain's  duty  to  preside  at  meetings,  head 
the  train,  locate  camping  grounds,  select  crossings  over 
fordable  streams,  and  direct  the  construction  of  rafts  and 
other  expedients  for  transportation  over  deep  waters. 

Grandma  Keyes  had  improved  during  the  first  weeks  of 
the  journey,  but  three  days  after  the  Big  Blue  river  was 
reached  she  died.  Her  coffin  was  hewed  out  of  a  cotton- 
wood  tree  and  she  was  buried  under  an  oak  tree,  a  stone 
bearing  a  crude  inscription  marking  the  spot. 

After  the  funeral  the  party  was  ready  to  proceed,  but 
there  was  delay  because  the  Big  Blue  was  in  flood,  and 
there  was  no  ford.  Accordingly,  as  Virginia  Reed  wrote, 

the  men  went  to  work  cutting  down  trees,  hollowing  out 
logs  and  making  rafts.  .  .  .  These  logs,  about  twenty-five 
feet  in  length,  were  united  by  cross  timbers,  forming  rafts, 


256        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

which  were  firmly  lashed  to  stakes  driven  into  the  bank. 
Ropes  were  attached  to  both  ends,  by  which  the  rafts  were 
pulled  back  and  forth  across  the  river.  The  banks  of  this 
stream  being  steep,  our  heavily  laden  wagons  had  to  be  let 
down  carefully  with  ropes,  so  that*  the  wheels  might  run 
into  the  hollowed  logs.  This  was  no  easy  task  when  you 
take  into  consideration  that  in  these  wagons  were  women 
and  children,  who  could  cross  the  rapid  river  in  no  other 
way.  Finally  the  dangerous  work  was  accomplished  and 
we  resumed  our  journey. 

After  the  river  was  safely  crossed  the  journey  was  con 
tinued  through  a  pleasant  country.  "How  I  enjoyed  riding 
my  pony,  galloping  over  the  plain,  gathering  wild  flowers!" 
was  one  of  Virginia  Reed's  memories  of  those  days.  "At 
night  the  young  folks  would  gather  about  the  camp  fire 
chatting  merrily,  and  often  a  song  would  be  heard,  or  some 
clever  dancer  would  give  us  a  barn-door  jig  on  the  hind- 
gate  of  a  wagon." 

On  June  16  Mrs.  George  Donner  wrote  a  letter  from  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Nebraska,  which  was  sent  back  to  Illi 
nois  by  returning  pioneers : 

To-day,  at  morning,  there  passed,  going  to  the  States, 
seven  men  from  Oregon,  who  went  out  last  year.  .  .  .  They 
met  the  advance  Oregon  caravan  about  150  miles  west  of 
Fort  Laramie,  and  counted  in  all  for  Oregon  and  Cali 
fornia  (excepting  ours)  478  wagons.  There  are  in  our 
company  over  40  wagons,  making  518  in  all;  and  there 
are  said  to  be  yet  20  behind.  To-morrow  we  cross  the 
river,  and,  by  reckoning,  will  be  over  200  miles  from  Fort 
Laramie,  where  we  intend  to  stop  and  repair  our  wagon 
wheels.  They  are  nearly  all  loose,  and  I  am  afraid  we 
will  have  to  stop  soon  if  there  can  be  found  wood  suitable 
to  heat  our  tires.  There  is  no  wood  here,  and  our  women 
and  children  are  out  now  getting  buffalo  chips  to  burn  in 
order  to  do  the  cooking.  These  chips  burn  well. 

When  near  Great  Salt  Lake  the  emigrant  train  divided, 
the  larger  portion  deciding  to  keep  to  the  old  road  to  Cali- 


DOXXER    MONUMENT,   DOXXER    LAKE,    CALIFORXIA 

(Dedicated   June   6,   1918,  on   the   spot  where  many  of 
the   Donner  party  perished) 


INSCRIPTION  ox 

ROCK  OF   HELL  ROARING 
CANYOXT,   UTAH 


From  Bayard  Taylor's  "El  Dorado' 


SAN    FRANCISCO   IX    NOVEMBER,    18-48 


From  Bayard  Taylor'n  "El  Dorado' 


SAN    FRANCISCO    IN     NOVEMBER, 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      257 

fornia,  while  the  Donners,  the  Reeds  and  many  others, 
eighty-seven  in  •'ll,  chose  what  was  known  as  the  Hastings 
Cut-off.  This  route,  which  passed  along  the  southern 
shores  of  the  lake,  was  said  to  shorten  the  trip  to  Califor 
nia  at  least  three  hundred  miles  before  it  rejoined  the  Fort 
Hall  Emigrant  Road  on  the  Humboldt.  The  party  that 
remained  in  the  old  road  reached  California  in  good  time, 
but  the  Donner  party  rode  forward  to  hardship,  disaster 
and  death. 

A  few  days  showed  the  travelers  that  the  road  was  not  as 
it  had  been  represented  by  Lansford  W.  Hastings,  who  had 
named  the  cut-off,  and  who  had  promised  to  guide  the 
travelers.  Virginia  Reed  wrote: 


We  were  seven  days  in  reaching  Weber  Canon,  and  Hast 
ings,  who  was  guiding  a  party  in  advance  of  our  train,  left 
a  note  by  the  wayside  warning  us  that  the  road  through 
Weber  Canon  was  impassable  and  advising  us  to  select  a 
road  over  the  mountains,  the  outline  of  which  he  attempted 
to  give  on  paper.  These  directions  were  so  vague  that 
C.  T.  Stanton,  William  Pike,  and  my  father  rode  on  in 
advance  and  overtook  Hastings  and  tried  to  induce  him  to 
return  and  guide  our  party.  He  refused,  but  came  back 
over  a  portion  of  the  road,  and  from  a  high  mountain  en 
deavored  to  point  out  the  general  course.  Over  this  road 
my  father  traveled  alone,  taking  notes,  and  blazing  trees, 
to  assist  him  in  retracing  his  course,  and  reaching  camp 
after  an  absence  of  four  days.  Learning  of  the  hardships 
of  the  advance  train,  the  party  decided  to  cross  towards 
the  lake.  Only  those  who  have  passed  through  this  coun 
try  on  horseback  can  appreciate  the  situation.  There  was 
absolutely  no  road,  not  even  a  trail.  The  canon  wound 
around  among  the  hills.  Heavy  underbrush  had  to  be  cut 
away  and  used  for  making  a  road  bed.  While  cutting  our 
way  step  by  step  through  the  "Hastings  Cut-off,"  we  were 
overtaken  and  joined  by  the  Graves  family,  consisting  of 
W.  F.  Graves,  his  wife  and  eight  children,  his  son-in-law, 
Jay  Fosdick,  and  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  John  Snyder. 


258        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Then  came  a  desert  which  Donner  had  been  told  was  only 
forty  miles  wide,  and  what  was  thought  to  be  an  ample 
supply  of  water  was  taken.  But  the  waste  proved  to  be 

twice  the  expected  distance. 

9 

It  was  a  dreary,  desolate,  alkali  waste ;  not  a  living  thing 
could  be  seen;  it  seemed  as  though  the  hand  of  death  had 
been  laid  upon  the  country.  We  started  in  the  evening, 
traveled  all  that  night,  and  the  following  day  and  night — 
two  nights  and  one  day  of  suffering  from  thirst  and  heat 
by  day  and  piercing  cold  by  night.  When  the  third  day 
came  and  we  saw  the  barren  waste  stretching  away  ap 
parently  as  boundless  as  when  we  started,  my  father  deter 
mined  to  go  ahead  in  search  of  water.  Before  starting  he 
instructed  the  drivers,  if  the  cattle  showed  signs  of  giving 
out,  to  take  them  from  the  wagons  and  follow  him.  He 
had  not  been  gone  long  before  the  oxen  began  to  fall  to 
the  ground  from  thirst  and  exhaustion.  They  were  un 
hitched  at  once  and  driven  ahead.  My  father  coming  back 
met  the  drivers  with  the  cattle  within  ten  miles  of  water 
and  instructed  them  to  return  as  soon  as  the  animals  had 
satisfied  their  thirst.  He  reached  us  about  daylight.  We 
waited  all  that  day  in  the  desert  looking  for  the  return  of 
our  drivers,  the  other  wagons  going  on  out  of  sight.  To 
wards  night  the  situation  became  desperate  and  we  had 
only  a  few  drops  of  water  left;  another  night  there  meant 
death.  We  must  set  out  on  foot  and  try  to  reach  some 
of  the  wagons.  Can  I  ever  forget  that  night  in  the  desert, 
when  we  walked  mile  after  mile  in  the  darkness,  every 
step  seeming  to  be  the  very  last  we  could  take !  Suddenly 
all  fatigue  was  banished  by  fear;  through  the  night  came 
a  swift  rushing  sound  of  one  of  the  young  steers  crazed 
by  thirst  and  apparently  bent  upon  our  destruction.  My 
father,  holding  his  youngest  child  in  his  arms,  and  keeping 
us  all  close  behind  him,  drew  his  pistol,  but  finally  the  mad 
dened  beast  turned  and  dashed  off  into  the  darkness.  Drag 
ging  ourselves  along  about  ten  miles,  we  reached  the  wagon 
of  Jacob  Donner.  The  family  were  all  asleep,  so  we  chil 
dren  lay  down  on  the  ground.  A  bitter  wind  swept  over 
the  desert,  chilling  us  through  and  through.  We  crept 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      259 

closer  together,  and  when  we  complained  of  the  cold,  papa 
placed  all  five  of  our  dogs  around  us,  and  only  for  the 
warmth  of  these  faithful  creatures  we  should  doubtless 
have  perished. 

The  stampeded  cattle  were  not  found,  though  a  week  was 
spent  in  searching  for  them.  All  the  Reed  wagons  had  to 
be  abandoned,  except  one,  which  was  drawn  by  oxen  sup 
plied  by  more  fortunate  members  of  the  caravan. 

Then  came  a  shortage  of  provisions,  with  California  still 
hundreds  of  miles  away.  The  situation  was  made  still 
worse  by  the  coming  of  an  early  snow-storm  which  left 
the  hills  white  and  made  the  crossing  of  the  mountains  im 
possible.  At  last,  however,  the  party  camped  within  three 
miles  of  the  summit.  Virginia  Reed  wrote: 

That  night  came  the  dreaded  snow.  Around  the  camp- 
fires  under  the  trees  great  feathery  flakes  came  whirling 
down.  The  air  was  so  full  of  them  that  one  could  see  ob 
jects  only  a  few  feet  away.  The  Indians  knew  we  were 
doomed,  and  one  of  them  wrapped  his  blanket  about  him, 
and  stood  all  night  under  a  tree.  We  children  slept  soundly 
on  our  cold  bed  of  snow  with  a  soft  white  mantle  falling 
over  us  so  thickly  that  ey;ery  few  moments  my  mother 
would  have  to  shake  the  shawl — our  only  covering — to  keep 
us  from  being  buried  alive.  In  the  morning  the  snow  lay 
deep  on  mountain  and  valley.  With  heavy  hearts  we  turned" 
back  to  a  cabin  that  had  been  built  by  the  Murphy-Schallen- 
berger  party  two  years  before.  We  built  more  cabins  and 
prepared  as  best  we  could  for  the  winter. 

Storm  followed  storm  until  the  snow  was  fourteen  feet 
deep.  Food  was  exhausted.  The  frozen  bodies  of  the  few 
cattle  left  were  devoured.  At  last  there  was  nothing  left 
to  eat  but  raw  hides  which,  when  boiled,  became  simply  a 
pot  of  glue.  Many  attempts  were  made  to  push  across  the 
mountains,  but  all  failed,  except  that  made  by  the  ''Forlorn 
Hope."  Of  the  ten  men  and  five  women  in  this  party  eight 
men  perished  on  the  way.  But  at  last  they  reached  Sutter's 
Fort. 


260         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Their  famished  faces  told  the  story.  Cattle  were  killed 
and  men  were  up  all  night  drying  beef  and  making  flour 
by  hand  mills,  nearly  200  pounds  being  made  in  one  night, 
and  a  party  of  seven,  commanded  by  Captain  Reasen  P. 
Tucker,  were  sent  to  our  relief  by  Captain  Sutter  and  the 
alcalde,  Mr.  Sinclair. 


The  men  in  the  relief  party  said  that  they  had  been  com 
pelled  to  leave  by  the  way  most  of  their  supplies  of  food; 
these  had  been  cached  for  the  use  of  those  who  would  leave 
the  camp  by  the  lake  for  the  valley.  There  was  only  a  little 
left.  Small  quantities  of  flour  were  carefully  measured 
out,  together  with  a  little  jerked  beef,  and  two  small  bis 
cuits  for  each  of  the  famishing  people. 

On  February  22  a  party  of  twenty-three,  including  Vir 
ginia  Reed,  started  out.  She  wrote: 

With  sorrowful  hearts  we  traveled  on,  walking  through 
the  snow  in  single  file.  The  men  wearing  snow-shoes  broke 
the  way,  and  we  followed  in  their  tracks.  At  night  we  lay 
down  on  the  snow  to  sleep,  to  awake  to  find  our  clothing 
all  frozen,  even  to  our  shoe-strings.  At  break  of  day  we 
were  again  on  the  road,  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  could 
make  better  time  over  the  frozen  snow.  The  sunshine, 
which  it  would  seem  would  have  been  welcome,  only  added 
to  our  misery.  The  dazzling  reflection  of  the  snow  was 
very  trying  to  the  eyes,  while  its  heat  melted  our  frozen 
clothing,  making  it  cling  to  our  bodies.  My  brother  was 
too  small  to  step  in  the  tracks  made  by  the  men,  and  in 
order  to  travel  he  had  to  place  his  knee  on  the  little  hill 
of  snow  after  each  step  and  climb  over.  Mother  coaxed 
him  along,  telling  him  that  every  step  he  took  he  was  get 
ting  nearer  papa  and  nearer  something  to  eat.  He  was  the 
youngest  child  that  walked  over  the  Sierra  Nevada.  .  .  . 
When  we  reached  the  place  where  the  cache  had  been  made 
by  hanging  the  food  on  a  tree,  we  were  horrified  to  find 
that  wild  animals  had  destroyed  it,  and  again  starvation 
stared  us  in  the  face.  But  food  was  brought  almost  at  once 
by  another  relief  party  from  Sutter's  Fort. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      261 

In  the  meantime  those  who  remained  at  Donner  Lake 
were  suffering  torture.  George  Donner  was  unable  to 
travel  because  of  an  accident,  and  his  wife  refused  to  leave 
him.  Two  of  the  children  had  gone  with  Virginia  Reed, 
but  Eliza  remained  with  her  parents.  Later  she  wrote  of 
the  failing  food  supply : 

The  last  food  which  I  remember  seeing  in  our  camp  be 
fore  the  arrival  of  the  Second  Relief  was  a  thin  mold  of 
tallow  which  mother  had  fried  out  of  the  trimmings  of  the 
jerked  beef  brought  by  the  First  Relief.  She  had  let  it 
harden  in  a  pan,  and  after  all  other  rations  had  given  out, 
she  cut  daily  from  it  three  small  white  squares  for  each  of 
us,  and  we  nibbled  off  the  four  corners  very  slowly  and 
then  around  and  around  the  edges  of  the  precious  pieces 
until  they  became  too  small  for  us  to  hold  between  our 
fingers. 

A  second  and  a  third  relief  party  arrived,  and  by  degrees 
the  survivors  of  the  unfortunate  party  made  their  weary 
way  through  the  trackless  snow  over  the  mountains,  into  the 
valley  of  the  Sacramento,  and  on  to  Sutter's  Fort. 

But  Eliza's  father  and  mother  died  by  the  lake.  Forty- 
two  of  the  eighty-three  who  had  been  overtaken  by  winter 
perished.  Only  eighteen  of  the  thirty-one  who  had  left 
Springfield  in  the  original  party  reached  California. 


II,    ACROSS  THE  DESERT  IN  SAFETY 

Not    with    the    bold    array 
Of  armies  dread,  came  they 

Proud  conquest  on; 
Through  a  long  warfare  rude, 
With  patient  hardihood, 
By  toil  and  strife  and  blood, 

The  soil  was  won. 

Won  from  the  Redman's  lair, 
To  be  an  Eden  fair 

To  us  and  ours; 
Won  as  the  peaceful  home 
Of  age  and  beauty's  bloom, 
While  day  shall  chase  night's  gloom, 

While  time  endures. 

— Lewis  C.  Cist. 

A  LITTLE  more  than  two  years  after  the  survivors  of  the 
Dormer  party  reached  Slitter's  Fort,  on  March  18,  1849, 
John  Evans  Brown  started  from  Asheville,  North  Carolina, 
for  Indianapolis.  The  diary  of  the  trip  6  is  one  of  the 
valuable  documents  of  the  days  of  the  pioneers. 

The  entry  of  April  18  was  made  at  Independence.  Then 
the  party  adopted  a  constitution  and  bought  eight  mules  for 
the  six  men.  The  total  cost  of  the  outfit  was  $1,120,  or 
$186.66  per  man. 

Among  the  entries  were: 

May  ii.  The  Buncome  Co.,  the  Carson  Co.  and  the 
Wilson  Co.  passed  this  evening,  and  we  followed  them  in 
the  early  morning. 

May  14.  We  made  an  early  start  in  a  very  heavy  rain 
storm,  and  when  out  a  mile  the  tongue  of  my  waggon  was 
broken  through  by  the  stubbornest  of  the  mules,  and  we 

262 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      263 

were  compelled  to  unhitch  and  make  a  new  tongue,  but 
caught  up  with  the  camp  at  night.  Taylor  is  very  ill  with 
the  cholera.  The  Kentucky  Company  joined  us. 

May  1 6.  We  crossed  the  line  of  the  United  States.  We 
passed  a  new  made  grave  of  an  emigrant. 

.  .  .  By  Thursday  we  passed  the  Pioneer  line,  but  at 
dinner  they  passed  us.  ...  We  drove  to  the  forks  of  the 
road  (one  goes  [left]  to  Santa  Fe  and  the  other  [right]  to 
Oregon).  We  camped  near  an  Indian  hut  which  had  been 
deserted  in  consequence  of  cholera  breaking  out  in  emigrant 
camps  near  by. 

.  .  .  On  Saturday  the  axletree  of  one  of  the  Kentucky 
waggons  broke  and  we  were  compelled  to  stop  until  noon 
when  we  drove  i  mile,  crossing  a  creek,  and  here  we 
stopped,  being  detained  a  length  of  time  in  assisting  each 
waggon  up  the  steep  bank. 

Three  days  later  the  party  drove  ten  miles  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Kansas  river  where  all  camped  in  order  that  the 
whole  train  might  be  taken  over  in  one  day  and  so  continue 
together. 

The  diary  continued : 

Robert  and  Clayton  Reeves  came  into  camp  after  we 
crossed  the  Kansas.  There  are  but  few  women  traveling. 

On  Thursday  the  24th,  we  left  camp  at  7  o'clock  and 
drove  15  miles  to  Manacursa  Creek,  where  we  camped. 
The  rain  came  down  in  torrents  and  our  tents  had  4  inches 
of  water  running  through  them.  Wood  of  Buncombe  is 
ill  with  symptoms  of  Cholera. 

.  .  .  Detained  to  dig  a  road.  .  .  .  Drove  to  a  creek 
which  was  very  high  and  we  were  obliged  to  build  a  raft 
to  cross.  H.  A.  Wood  died  of  Cholera  to-night,  after  two 
days'  illness. 

.  .  .  One  of  the  Kentucky  waggons  broke  down.  Five 
of  our  men  were  taken  ill  with  cholera  and  everything 
seems  sad;  misfortune  hangs  over  us. 

...  A  Kentucky  waggon  broke  down  again,  and  the 
rain  came  down  in  torrents.  Ten  men  are  sick  with  the 
cholera. 


264.         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

Three  men  of  the  Kentucky  Company  returned  from 
here,  because  there  was  so  much  sickness  and  because  of 
the  disagreeable  weather. 

Sunday,  June  10.  We  held  a  meeting  of  the  Company, 
and  determined  to  rest  all  power  and  authority  in  one  man. 
A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  draft  regulations 
for  the  government  of  the  party. 

From  a  person  returning  to  the  States  we  learned  there 
was  much  suffering  in  the  train  ahead  of  us,  mules  and  oxen 
were  giving  out  on  account  of  the  insufficient  grass.  We 
found  three  fresh  graves  of  emigrants  who  died  of  the 
cholera. 

The  Messrs.  Reeves  again  overtook  us  and  camped  near. 
They  are  travelling  in  an  ox  train  and  will  reach  California 
soon  as  we  if  we  do  not  abandon  stopping  so  often. 

.  .  .  Our  men,  and  the  men  from  Rutherford  County, 
North  Carolina,  concluded  to  leave  the  train  and  endeavor 
to  travell  more  expeditiously  than  we  had  been  doing. 

.  .  .  Eight  trains  camping  in  sight  of  us  ... 

.  .  .  Reached  Fort  Laramie  and  we  were  determined  to 
dispose  of  our  heavy  waggon  and  attach  six  mules  to  the 
small  one,  and  hasten  on  our  road.  We  busied  ourselves 
in  condensing  our  load  and  packing  in  one  waggon,  and 
finished  at  three  o'clock.  All  the  trunks,  part  of  the  Bacon, 
and  everything  that  was  not  absolutely  necessary  was 
thrown  aside. 


Here  there  was  a  difficulty.  An  officer  at  Fort  Laramie 
claimed  the  best  mule,  for  it  bore  the  government  brand. 
This  mule  had  been  bought  at  Independence  in  the  regular 
way.  Later  this  was  given  back.  The  comments  made  on 
these  events  by  the  diarist  are  interesting.  When  the  mule 
was  taken  he  wrote : 

The  protection  afforded  to  emigrants  by  the  chain  of 
Military  Posts  is  only  another  name  for  robbery.  An  emi 
grant  can  purchase  nothing  except  at  an  exorbitant  price, 
and  in  the  present  instance  suffers  himself  to  be  stript  of 
his  all,  when  far  away  from  home. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      265 

After  the  animal  had  been  returned  he  said : 

The  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Fort  conducts  himself 
with  much  credit.  He  is  a  Gentleman  in  every  sense  of  the 
word,  and  will  be  of  infinite  service  to  emigrants. 

Another  entry : 

Owing  to  all  the  trains  in  the  neighborhood  of  ours 
leaving  camp  on  Sunday,  we  concluded  to  drive  also,  as  the 
Indians  are  on  the  hill  near  by,  and  will  take  advantage  of 
our  situation.  We  drove  eight  mules  to  a  creek  where  we 
found  a  good  grass  and  we  put  our  mules  out,  as  Harris 
and  Mason  concluded  to  return  to  our  Monday's  Camp, 
for  our  only  bucket  which  was  left  inadvertently,  and  when 
they  returned  it  was  too  late  for  us  to  drive  any  distance, 
therefore  we  rested  the  ballance  of  the  day  at  this  creek, 
with  only  one  train  in  sight. 

On  Monday  we  left  Camp  early,  with  five  Scotchmen, 
who  came  up  last  night  in  a  waggon.  They  had  separated 
from  their  party  on  account  of  their  slow  driving. 

Early  Tuesday  morning  we  made  ready  to  leave,  when 
we  were  surprised  to  see  a  man  ride  into  camp,  and  claim 
two  horses,  which  had  been  brought  into  our  Company  the 
night  before  by  a  young  man  of  respectable  appearance, 
who  requested  permission  to  remain.  ...  It  appears  that 
a  Company  from  New  York  had  made  arrangements  to 
pack  at  the  fort  and  in  doing  so  rather  inconvenienced  the 
young  man  and  he  decided  to  take  two  of  the  horses  and 
go  ahead.  .  .  .  The  horses  were  handed  over,  and  the 
young  man  returned  in  captivity  to  the  fort. 

On  Wednesday  I  awoke  and  rose  early  from  my  bed, 
which  was  nothing  more  than  a  buffalo  robe  stretched  on 
the  ground  with  the  clear  blue  sky  for  covering.  We  were 
compelled  to  herd  our  mules  on  the  hills  near  by  camp,  and, 
being  apprehensive  of  the  Indians,  we  concluded  to  lay 
near  the  stock.  There  were  six  trains  in  sight  of  us. 

Saturday,  7th.  About  five  o'clock  we  reached  the  Alkali 
Springs.  .  .  .  The  water  tastes  like  Seidlitz  Powder. 

Sunday.  The  ox  teams  that  have  preceded  us  have  lost 
many  oxen  from  the  use  of  this  water,  and  I  fear  many  will 


266         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

not  profit  by  their  example.  We  drove  four  miles  to  Wil 
low  Springs,  where  there  is  plenty  of  water  .  .  .  the  many 
dead  oxen  lying  near  the  water  induced  us  to  continue  our 
journey.  .  .  .  There  is  a  fine  spring  two  miles  from  the 
Willow  Spring,  but  we  missed  it  and.  drove  four  miles  to 
the  foot  of  a  hill,  where  we  struck  the  small  creek,  which 
had  been  trickling  down  the  swamp  to  our  left  for  six  miles. 
The  water  is  not  good. 

.  .  We  overtook  Mr.  Briddleman  of  Sullivan  County, 
East  Tennessee.  .  .  .  Next  day  I  reached  a  camp  of  two 
wagons,  which  I  found  were  from  Tennessee.  On  the  i6th 
I  met  two  persons  in  an  Ohio  train  from  Franklin  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Also  met  a  man  and  lady  from  Williams- 
port,  Pennsylvania. 

I9th.  Called  on  Miss  Elizabeth  White  of  Pleasant  Hill, 
Maryland.  .  .  .  Her  parents  are  emigrating  at  an  ad 
vanced  age,  with  her  quite  young. 

Friday.  While  we  were  grassing  our  stock,  several 
trains  appeared  on  the  hills,  two  miles  behind  us,  which  set 
us  to  work  to  gearing  and  just  started  when  Miss  White, 
accompanied  by  a  young  gallant  of  the  train,  rode  up  and 
informed  us  that  their  train  was  near  by.  She  rode  along 
with  us,  entertaining  us  very  agreeably  for  three  miles, 
when  she  stopped  to  wait  for  the  Company. 

Sunday.  Dr.  Stone  devoted  the  greater  part  of  the  eve 
ning  to  baking  Apple  Pies,  which  were  a  very  great  luxury 
with  us,  on  the  plains.  Now  we  can  appreciate  the  fine 
dinners  set  before  us  at  our  homes  and  must  acknowledge 
that  we  were  too  choice  when  so  much  was  to  be  had. 

.  .  .  The  fine  grass  induced  us  to  believe  our  mules  per 
fectly  safe,  without  being  staked,  but  we  discovered  our 
mistake  about  ten  o'clock  when  we  were  aroused  by  run 
ning  of  the  whole  stock  and  the  cries  of  the  guard.  All 
immediately  gave  chase  and  in  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
one  of  the  Steels  and  myself  succeeded  in  outrunning  them 
and  bringing  them  toward  the  camp.  I  had  run  the  whole 
distance  in  my  stocking  feet,  without  hat,  coat  or  jacket 
and  at  my  fastest,  so  when  I  found  myself  ahead  I  was 
nearly  done  out.  ...  I  was  so  little  fit  to  stand  guard  in  a 
few  hours  after  returning  to  camp,  much  less  the  part  of 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      267 

preceding  watch,  as  I  was  awakened  by  Taylor  an  hour 
before  the  time,  through  mistake. 

.  .  .  Camped  near  the  junction  of  the  Fort  Hall  and 
cut-off  roads.  .  .  .  The  road  most  certainly  is  in,  a  more 
direct  course  and  will  also  compare  with  the  road  via  Fort 
Hall,  for  many  miles  it  is  a  little  southwest  in  its  direction 
and  is  in  fine  order,  lying  in  Cannons  where  nature  has  done 
everything  for  a  natural  road.  .  .  .  Taking  everything  to 
gether  the  road  is  excellent  and  will  save  to  the  emigrants 
at  least  three  days'  travel!  with  teams. 

Saturday,  August  4.  The  road  is  very  bad  and  at  one 
hill  we  were  compelled  to  let  the  waggon  down  with  rope. 

Sunday  being  the  day  of  rest,  we  concluded  to  remain 
at  our  Camp  untill  Monday.  The  Dayton  Company  started 
at  daylight  and  we  had  to  do  the  same  Monday  in  order  to 
overtake  them  this  week. 

Monday.  .  .  .  The  waggon  belonging  to  Steel  and 
Brothers  (who  have  been  travelling  with  us  for  a  short  dis 
tance  this  side  of  Fort  Laramie)  capsized  in  crossing  a 
deep  ravine  full  of  water.  The  driver  drove  too  far  to  the 
right  and  all  fell  off  on  bank,  four  feet  into  the  water. 
Fortunately  nothing  was  hurt.  We  travelled  up  the  creek, 
ten  miles,  passing  on  the  way  many  ox  trains. 

.  .  .  Entering  the  Cannon,  we  crossed  the  creek  nine 
times,  many  of  the  places  being  exceedingly  difficult.  The 
ox  train  being  very  slow  in  crossing  detained  us  till  after 
night  in  reaching  the  valley,  where  we  found  a  company 
from  Tennessee. 

Sunday,  August  12.  ...  We  were  this  day  invited  to 
attend  preaching  at  the  camp  of  the  Union  Band  of  Illinois, 
about  one  mile  above  us  on  the  Creek.  This  was  an  op 
portunity  that  we  had  not  met  with  lately  and  we  very 
gladly  availed  ourselves  of  it. 

Friday.  .  .  .  Just  as  we  were  starting  one  of  our  Com 
pany  took  all  his  baggage  out  of  the  waggon,  with  the  de 
termination  of  leaving  us.  Nothing  was  said  to  induce  him 
to  remain,  as  he  was  a  very  disagreeable  man,  though  we 
lost  much  by  suffering  him  to  leave  us  after  coming  so  far. 
.  .  .  Not  a  day  for  the  last  two  months  but  he  was  quarrel- 


268        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

ing  with  some  one  of  the  company.    None  of  us  bid  him 
good-bye.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  The  Indians  are  very  troublesome,  having  'stole 
many  cattle  from  trains  last  here.  Eight  Indians  have  been 
killed  by  the  Whites  in  the  last  fortnight,  and  I  much  fear 
they  will  become  more  troublesome  than  ever. 

.  .  .  The  mules  were  very  much  j  added  to-day,  caused, 
I  think,  by  eating  bullrushes.  .  .  .  Our  mules  are  much 
better,  but  the  horses  of  the  Messrs.  Steele  are  still  af 
fected,  so  much  so  that  it  is  with  difficulty  they  travel. 
Owing  to  these  horses  being  so  jadded  we  did  not  start 
from  noon  time  untill  three  o'clock  and  then  drove  twelve 
miles  to  good  grass.  The  Messrs.  Steele  did  not  reach  our 
camp  that  evening,  therefore  we  were  alone,  and  will  not 
have  them  with  us  on  the  end  of  our  journey.  We  all 
regretted  leaving  them,  as  they  were  careful  and  steady  men, 
and  agreed  with  us  in  our  travelling  better  than  any  we 
have  met  on  the  road,  but  we  could  not  think  of  losing 
time  in  waiting  for  the  horses  to  recruit. 

Sunday.  This  Evening  much  resembled  the  quiet  Sun 
day  Evening  that  we  were  accustomed  to  have  at  home  with 
our  friends.  We  often  think  of  home  and  the  many  friends 
we  have  left,  but  at  no  time  does  the  feeling  make  such  an 
impression  on  one's  mind  as  on  a  beautiful  Sabbath  Eve 
ning,  when  the  same  stillness  prevails  over  everything.  We 
often  wish  ourselves  at  home  and  with  the  permission  of 
Providence  we  will  gratify  that  wish  at  no  very  distant 
day,  at  least  so  soon  as  we  can  in  a  measure  fill  our  pockets 
with  the  "Dust." 

Bayard  Taylor  longed  to  experience  for  himself  the  trials 
of  those  who  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  but  he  was 
compelled  to  choose  the  route  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  However,  when  he  reached  California  he  took 
every  opportunity  to  talk  with  the  hardy  men  who  had  made 
their  way  by  land.  And  when  he  wrote  the  account  of  his 
own  trip,7  he  told  enthusiastically  of  some  of  the  incidents 
of  which  he  had  learned : 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      269 

Sacramento  City  was  the  goal  of  the  emigration  by  the 
northern  route.  From  the  beginning  of  August  to  the  last 
of  December  scarcely  a  day  passed  without  the  arrival 
of  some  man  or  company  of  men  and  families,  from  the 
mountains,  to  pitch  their  tents  for  a  few  days  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  and  rest  from  their  months  of  hardship.  The 
vicissitudes  through  which  these  people  had  passed,  the 
perils  they  had  encountered  and  the  toils  they  had  endured 
seem  to  me  without  precedent  in  History.  The  story  of 
thirty  thousand  souls,  accomplishing  a  journey  of  more 
than  two  thousand  miles  through  a  savage  and  but  partially 
explored  wilderness,  crossing  on  their  way  two  mountain 
chasms  equal  to  the  Alps  in  height  and  asperity,  besides 
broad  tracts  of  burning  desert,  and  plains  of  nearly  equal 
desolation,  where  a  few  .  .  .  stunted  shrubs  and  springs  of 
brackish  water  were  their  only  stay,  has  in  it  so  much  of 
heroism,  of  daring  and  of  sublime  endurance  that  we  may 
vainly  question  the  records  of  any  age  for  its  equal.  Stand 
ing  as  I  was  at  the  closing  stage  of  that  grand  pilgrimage, 
the  sight  of  these  adventurers  as  they  came  in  day  by  day, 
and  the  hearing  of  their  stories,  each  of  which  had  its  own 
peculiar  and  separate  character,  had  a  irtore  fascinating, 
because  more  real  interest  than  the  tales  of  the  glorious 
old  travelers  which  so  impress  us  in  childhood.  .  .  . 

It  is  estimated  that  about  four  thousand  persons  perished 
from  cholera.  Men  were  seized  without  warning  with  the 
most  violent  symptoms,  and  instances  occurred  in  which 
the  sufferer  was  left  to  die  alone  by  the  roadside,  while  his 
panic-stricken  companions  pushed  forward,  vainly  trusting 
to  get  beyond  the  influence  of  the  epidemic.  Rough  boards 
were  placed  at  the  graves  of  those  who  were  buried  near 
the  trail,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  others  lying  unmarked 
by  any  memorial,  on  the  bleak  surface  of  the  open  plain 
and  among  the  barren  depths  of  the  mountains. 


The  cholera  reached  St.  Louis  from  New  Orleans  about 
the  time  of  the  departure  from  Independence,  and  overtook 
them  before  they  were  fairly  embarked  on  the  wilderness. 
By  the  time  the  companies  reached  Fort  Laramie  the 


270        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

epidemic  had  expended  its  violence.     But  here  began  new 
trials. 

Up  and  down  the  mountains  that  hem  in  the  Sweetwater 
Valley  over  the  .  .  .  Wind  River  -chain — through  the 
Devil's  Gate,  and  past  the  stupendous  mass  of  Rock  Inde 
pendence — they  toiled  slowly  to  the  South  Pass,  descended 
to  the  tributaries  of  the  Colorado  and  plunged  into  the 
rugged  defiles  of  the  Timpanozu  Mountains.  Here  the 
pasturage  became  scarce  and  the  companies  were  obliged  to 
take  separate  trails  in  order  to  find  sufficient  grass  for  their 
teams.  Many  who,  in  their  anxiety  to  get  forward  with 
speed,  had  thrown  away  a  great  part  of  the  supplies  that 
encumbered  them  now  began  to  want,  and  were  frequently 
reduced,  in  their  necessity,  to  make  use  of  their  mules  and 
horses  for  food.  .  .  . 

The  progress  of  the  emigrants  along  the  Valley  of  Hum- 
boldt's  River  is  described  as  having  been  slow  and  toilsome 
in  the  extreme.  The  River,  which  lies  entirely  within  the 
Great  Basin — whose  waters  like  those  of  the  uplands  of 
Central  Asia  have  no  connexion  with  the  sea — shrinks  away 
towards  the  end  of  summer,  and  finally  loses  itself  in  the 
sand,  at  a  place  called  the  Sink.  Here  the  single  trail 
across  the  Basin  divides  into  three  branches,  and  the  emi 
grants,  leaving  the  scanty  meadows  about  the  Sink,  have 
before  them  an  arid  desert,  varying  from  fifty  to  eighty 
miles  in  breadth,  according  to  the  route  which  they  take. 
Many  companies,  arriving  at  this  place,  were  obliged  to 
stop  and  recruit  their  exhausted  animals,  though  exposed 
to  the  danger  of  being  detained  there  for  the  whole  winter, 
from  the  fall  of  snow  on  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Then  came  the  Sierra  Nevada,  many  of  whose  passes 
had  never  been  crossed  before  1849. 

In  getting  down  from  the  summit  .  .  .  emigrants  told 
me  they  were  frequently  obliged  to  take  .  .  .  the  wagon  and 
lower  it  with  rope ;  but  for  the  slow  descents  which  followed 
another  plan  was  adopted.  The  wheels  were  all  locked,  and 
only  one  yoke  of  oxen  was  left  in  front;  a  middling  sized 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  CALIFORNIA      271 

pine  was  then  cut  down,  and  the  butt  fastened  to  the  axle- 
tree,  the  branching  top  dragging  in  the  earth.  The  holding 
back  of  the  oxen,  the  sliding  of  the  locked  wheels,  and  the 
resistance  of  the  tree  together  formed  an  opposing  power 
sufficient  to  admit  of  a  slow  descent;  but  it  was  necessary  to 
observe  great  care  lest  the  pace  should  be  quickened,  for  the 
slightest  start  would  have  overcome  the  resistance  and 
given  oxen,  wagon  and  tree  together  a  momentum  that 
would  have  landed  them  at  the  bottom  in  a  very  different 
condition. 

By  1852  there  were  250,000  men  in  California.  Thou 
sands  of  them  had  braved  the  perils  of  the  overland  journey, 
and  so  were  hardened  for  the  strain  of  pioneer  life  in  the 
Golden  West. 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VII 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Conditions,"  p.  218. 

2.  "Travels  in  the  Great  Western  Prairies,"  p.  23. 

3.  "Across  the  Plains  in  the  Donner  Party,"  p.  409. 

4.  "Expedition  of  the  Donner  Party  and  Its  Tragic  Fate,"  p.  5. 

5.  Ditto,  p.   12. 

6.  "Journey  Across  the  Plains  to  the  Pacific,"  p.  130. 

7.  "El  Dorado,"  Vol.  I,  p.  35. 


CHAPTER  EIGHT :  TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI 


TO  THE  WEST 

To  the  West !  to  the  West !  to  the  land  of  the  free, 
Where  the  mighty  Missouri  rolls  down  to  the  sea, 
Where  a  man  is  a  man  if  he's  willing  to  toil, 
And  the  humblest  may  gather  the  fruits  of  the  soil, 
Where  children  are  blessings,  and  he  who  hath  most 
Hath  aid  to  his  fortune  and  riches  to  boast ; 
Where  the  young  may  exult,  and  the  aged  may  rest, 
Away,  far  away,  to  the  land  of  the  West. 

To  the  West !  to  the  West !  where  the  rivers  that  flow, 
Run  thousands  of  miles,  spreading  out  as  they  go ; 
Where  the  green  waving  forests  that  echo  our  call, 
Are  wide  as  old  England,  and  free  to  us  all ! 
Where  the  prairies,  like  seas  where  the  billows  have  roll'd, 
Are  broad  as  the  kingdoms  and  empires  of  old ; 
And  the  lakes  are  like  oceans  in  storms  or  in  rest — 
Away,  far  away,  to  the  land  of  the  West. 

To  the  West,  to  the  West,  there  is  wealth  to  be  won, 

The  forest  to  clear  is  the  work  to  be  done; 

We'll  try  it,  we'll  do  it,  and  never  despair, 

While  there's  light  in  the  sunshine  and  breath  in  the  air. 

The  bold  independence,  that  labor  shall  buy, 

Shall  strengthen  our  hands  and  forbid  us  to  sigh ; 

Away !  far  away !  let  us  hope  for  the  best ! 

And  build  up  new  homes,  in  the  land  of  the  West. 

— CHARLES  MACKAY. 


I.   WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Room !    Room  to  turn  round  in,  to  breathe  and  be  free, 
And  to  grow  to  be  giant,  to  sail  as  at  sea, 
With  the  speed  of  the  wind  on  a  steed  with  his  mane 
To  the  wind,  without  pathway  or  route  or  a  rein. 
Room!    Room  to  be  free.  .  .  . 

— Joaquin  Miller. 

WHILE  early  explorers,  adventurers  and  trappers  made 
use  of  the  Missouri  river,  the  real  beginning  of  trans 
portation  on  this  waterway  was  not  until  1803,  when  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  led  President  Jefferson  to  plan  an 
exploring  expedition  up  the  Missouri  river  and  on  to  the 
Pacific  Coast. 

Of  this  expedition  Captain  Meri wether  Lewis  and  Cap 
tain  William  Clark  were  asked  to  take  charge.  These 
officers  of  the  United  States  Army  made  their  start  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  on  May  14,  1804. 

In  addition  to  the  leaders,  there  were  in  the  party  nine 
young  men  from  Kentucky,  fourteen  soldiers  of  the  United 
States  Army,  who  had  volunteered  for  the  service,  two 
French  watermen,  an  interpreter  and  hunter,  and  a  negro 
servant  belonging  to  Captain  Clark.  In  addition  to  these, 
a  corporal  and  six  soldiers,  and  nine  watermen  were  engaged 
for  service  as  far  as  the  Mandan  nation. 

The  equipment  consisted  of  three  boats,  a  keel  boat  fifty- 
five  feet  long,  drawing  three  feet  of  water,  and  carrying 
one  large  square  sail  and  twenty-two  oars;  and  two  "pe- 
riogues,"  *  or  open  boats,  one  of  six  and  the  other  of 

*The  pirogue  is  described  as  "a  boat  whose  hull  was  two  long 
canoes  six  feet  apart,  fastened  together,  and  covered  with  rough 
flooring." 

275 


276        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

seven  oars.  Two  horses  were  led  along  the  banks  of  the 
river  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  home  game,  or  hunting  in 
case  of  scarcity. 

From  the  Journal 1  kept  by  the  explorers,  as  edited  by 
Nicholas  Bidclle,  extracts  follow:  « 

May  22.  ...  Good  Man's  river.  A  small  number  of 
emigrants  from  the  United  States  have  settled  on  the  banks 
of  this  creek. 

May  24.  Early  this  morning  we  ascended  a  very  diffi 
cult  rapid,  called  the  Devil's  Race  ground,  where  the  cur 
rent  sets  for  half  a  mile  against  some  projecting  rocks  on 
the  south  side.  We  were  less  fortunate  in  attempting  a 
second  rapid  of  equal  difficulty.  Passing  near  the  southern 
shore,  the  bank  fell  in  so  fast  as  to  oblige  us  to  cross  the 
river  instantly  between  the  northern  side  and  a  sand-bar, 
which  is  actually  moving  and  backing  with  the  violence 
of  the  current.  The  boat  struck  on  it,  and  would  have  up 
set  immediately  if  the  man  had  not  jumped  into  the  water 
and  held  her  until  the  sand  washed  from  under  her. 

June  5.  ...  At  eleven  o'clock  we  met  a  raft  made  of 
two  canoes  joined  together,  in  which  two  French  traders 
-were  descending  from  eighty  leagues  up  the  Kansas  river, 
where  they  had  wintered  and  caught  great  quantities  of 
beaver.  .  .  . 

June  8.  .  .  We  met  with  a  party  of  three  hunters  from 
the  Sioux  river;  they  had  been  out  for  twelve  months,  and 
collected  about  $9x30  worth  of  peltries  and  furs. 

June  12.  ..  Met  two  rafts  loaded,  the  one  with  furs,  the 
other  with  the  tallow  of  buffalo ;  they  were  from  the  Sioux 
nation,  and  on  their  way  to  St.  Louis;  but  we  were  for 
tunate  enough  to  engage  one  of  the  men.  ... 

June  15.  The  river  being  very  high,  the  sanii-bars  were 
so  rolling  and  numerous  and  the  current  was  so  strong  that 
we  were  unable  to  stem  it,  even  with  oars  added  to  our 
sails.  This  obliged  us  to  go  nearer  the  banks,  which  were 
falling  in  so  that  we  could  not  make,  though  the  boat  was 
occasionally  towed,  more  than  14  miles. 

June  16.  Early  this  morning  we  joined  the  camp  of  our 
hunters,  who  had  provided  two  deer  and  two  bear.  .  .  . 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  277 

July  3.  A  gentle  breeze  from  the  south  carried  us  n/4 
miles  this  day. 

The  morning  of  the  4th  of  July  was  announced  by  the 
discharge  of  our  gun.  .  .  .  Reached  a  creek.  .  .  .  To  this 
creek,  which  had  no  name,  we  gave  that  of  4th  of  July 
creek.  .  .  .  After  15  miles'  sail  we  came  to  on  the  north  a 
little  above  a  creek  .  .  .  which  we  called  Independence 
creek,  in  honor  of  the  day,  which  we  could  celebrate  only 
by  an  evening  gun,  and  an  additional  gill  of  whisky  to  the 
men. 

July  7.  The  rapidity  of  the  water  obliged  us  to  draw 
the  boat  along  with  rope.  .  .  . 

July  14.  We  had  some  hard  showers  of  rain  before 
seven  o'clock,  when  we  set  out.  We  had  just  reached  the 
end  of  the  sand-island,  and  seen  the  opposite  bank  falling^ 
in  and  so  lined  with  timber  that  we  could  not  approach  it 
without  danger,  when  a  sudden  squall  from  the  northeast 
struck  the  boat  on  the  starboard  quarter,  and  would  cer 
tainly  have  dashed  her  to  pieces  on  the  sand  island  if  the 
party  had  not  leaped  into  the  river  and  with  the  aid  of  the 
anchor  and  cable  kept  her  off.  The  waves  dashed  over  her 
for  the  space  of  40  minutes,  after  which  the  river  became 
almost  instantaneously  calm  and  smooth.  The  two  perio- 
gues  were  ahead,  in  a  situation  nearly  similar,  but  for 
tunately  no  danger  was  done  to  the  boats  or  the  loading. 

July  20.  .  .  .  For  a  month  past  the  party  have  been 
troubled  with  boils,  and  occasionally  with  the  dysentery. 
These  were  large  tumors,  which  broke  out  under  the  arms, 
on  the  legs,  and  generally  in  the  parts  some  exposed  to  ac 
tion,  which  sometimes  became  too  painful  to  allow  the  men 
to  work.  After  remaining  some  days,  they  disappeared 
without  any  correction,  except  a  poultice  of  the  bark  of  the 
elm,  or  Indian  meal.  This  disorder,  which  we  ascribe  to 
the  muddiness  of  the  river  water,  has  not  affected  the  gen 
eral  health  of  the  party. 

July  21.  We  reached,  in  the  rain,  the  mouth  of  the 
great  river  Platte. 

July  22-26.  .  .  .  We  stayed  here  several  days,  during 
which  we  dried  our  provisions,  made  new  oars,  and  pre 
pared  our  dispatches  and  maps  of  the  country  we  had 


278        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

passed  for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  we 
intend  to  send  this  by  a  periogue  from  this  place. 

August  5.  We  set  out  early,  and  by  means  of  our  oars 
made  2Ol/2  miles,  though  the  river  was  crowded  with  sand 
bars.  ...  In  the  evening  Captain  Clark,  in  pursuing  some 
game  in  an  eastern  direction,  found  himself  at  the  distance 
of  370  yards  from  the  camp  at  a  point  of  the  river  whence 
we  had  come  twelve  miles. 

August  12.  ...  We  stopped  to  take  a  meridian  altitude, 
and  sent  a  man  across  to  our  place  of  observation  yester 
day.  He  stepped  974  yards,  and  the  distance  we  had  come 
round  was  18%  miles. 

August  20.  ...  Here  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  one 
of  our  sergeants,  Charles  Floyd.  ...  He  was  buried  on  the 
top  of  the  bluff  with  the  honor  due  to  a  brave  soldier ;  the 
place  of  his  interment  was  marked  by  a  cedar  post.  About 
a  mile  beyond  this  place,  to  which  we  gave  his  name,  is  a 
small  river  .  .  .  which  we  called  Floyd's  river.* 

September  II.  .  .  .  In  the  morning  we  observed  a  man 
riding  on  horseback  toward  the  boat,  and  we  were  much 
pleased  to  find  that  it  was  George  Shannon,  one  of  our 
party,  for  whose  safety  we  have  been  very  uneasy.  Our 
two  horses  having  strayed  from  us  on  the  28th  of  August, 
he  was  sent  to  search  for  them.  After  he  had  found  them 
he  attempted  to  rejoin  us;  but  seeing  some  other  tracks, 
which  must  have  been  those  of  Indians,  and  which  he  mis 
took  for  our  own,  he  concluded  that  we  were  ahead,  and 
had  been  for  16  days  following  the  bank  of  the  river  above 
us.  During  the  first  five  days  he  exhausted  his  bullets,  and 
was  then  nearly  starved,  being  obliged  to  subsist  for  twelve 
days  on  a  few  grapes,  and  a  rabbit,  which  he  killed  by 
making  use  of  a  hard  piece  of  stick  for  a  ball.  One  of  his 
horses  gave  out  and  was  left  behind;  the  other  he  kept  as 
a  last  resource  for  food.  Despairing  of  overtaking  us,  he 
was  returning  down  the  river,  in  hopes  of  meeting  some 

*The  character  of  Captain  Clark's  original  text  may  be  judged 
from  the  original  entry  as  to  Sergeant  Floyd.  "Sergeant  Floyd  is 
taken  verry  bad  all  at  once  with  a  Biliose  Chorlick  we  attempt  to 
reliev  him  without  success  as  yet,  he  gets  worse  and  we  are  much 
allarmed  about  his  situation." 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  279 

other  boat ;  and  was  on  the  point  of  killing  his  horse,  when 
he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  join  us. 

September  12.  ...  We  with  great  difficulty  were  en 
abled  to  struggle  through  the  sand-bars,  the  water  being 
very  rapid  and  shallow,  so  that  we  were  several  hours  in 
making  a  mile.  Several  times  the  boat  whirled  on  a  bar, 
when  the  men  were  obliged  to  jump  out  and  prevent  her 
from  upsetting ;  at  others,  after  making  a  way  up  one  chan 
nel,  the  shoalness  of  the  water  forced  us  back  to  seek  the 
deep  channel.  We  advanced  only  four  miles  in  the  whole 
day. 

September  14.  ...  The  sand-bars  are  very  numerous, 
and  render  the  river  wide  and  shallow;  this  obliged  the 
crew  to  get  into  the  water  and  drag  the  boat  over  the  bars 
several  times. 

September  21.  Between  one  and  two  o'clock  the  ser 
geant  on  guard  alarmed  us  by  crying  that  the  sand-bar  on 
which  we  lay  was  sinking.  We  jumped  up  and  found  that 
both  above  and  below  our  camp  the  sand  was  undermined 
and  falling  in  very  fast.  We  had  scarcely  got  into  the 
boats  and  pushed  off,  when  the  bank  under  which  they  had 
been  lying  fell  in,  and  would  certainly  have  sunk  the  two 
periogues  if  they  had  remained  there.  By  the  time  we 
reached  the  opposite  shore  the  ground  of  our  camp  sunk 
also.  ...  A  man,  whom  we  had  dispatched  to  step  off  the 
distance  across  the  bend,  made  it  2000  yards;  the  circuit  is 
30  miles. 

September  23;  In  the  evening  three  boys  of  the  Sioux 
nation  swam  across  the  river  and  informed  us  that  two 
parties  of  Sioux  were  camped  on  the  next  river;  one  con 
sisting  of  80  and  the  second  of  60  lodges,  at  some  distance 
above.  After  treating  them  kindly  we  sent  them  back  with 
a  present  of  two  carrots  of  tobacco  to  their  chief,  whom  we 
invited  to  a  conference  in  the  morning. 

Friday,  September  28.  ...  It  was  with  great  difficulty 
we  could  make  the  chiefs  leave  the  boat.  At  length  we  got 
rid  of  all  except  the  great  chief;  when,  just  as  we  were 
setting  out,  several  of  the  chief's  soldiers  sat  on  the  rope 
which  held  the  boat  to  the  shore.  Irritated  at  this,  we  got 
everything  ready  to  fire  on  them  if  they  persisted;  but  the 


280         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

great  chief  said  that  they  were  his  soldiers,  and  only 
wanted  some  tobacco.  We  had  already  refused  a  flag  and 
some  tobacco  to  the  second  chief,  who  had  demanded  them 
with  great  importunity,  but,  willing  to  leave  them  without 
going  to  extremities,  we  threw  over  a  carrot  of  tobacco, 
saying  to  him,  "You  told  us  that  you*  are  a  great  man,  and 
have  influence ;  now  show  your  influence  by  taking  the  rope 
from  those  men,  and  we  will  then  go  without  any  further 
trouble."  This  appeal  to  his  pride  had  the  desired  effect; 
he  went  out  of  the  boat,  gave  his  soldiers  the  tobacco,  and, 
pulling  the  rope  out  of  their  hands,,  delivered  it  on  board. 

October  3.  ...  The  ascent  soon  became  so  obstructed 
by  sand-bars  and  shoal  water  that,  after  attempting  in  vair 
several  channels,  we  determined  to  rest  for  the  night. 

October  4.  On  examination  we  found  that  there  was 
no  outlet  practicable  for  us  in  this  channel,  and  that  we 
must  retrace  our  steps.  We  therefore  returned  three  miles 
and  then  attempted  another  channel  in  which  we  were  more 
fortunate. 

On  October  27,  1804,  the  party  paused  for  the  winter 
among  the  Mandans.  Cabins  and  later  Fort  Mandan  were 
built  On  April  7,  1805,  thirty-two  men  left  Fort  Mandan 
in  canoes.  On  April  12  they  were  at  the  Little  Missouri, 
1,693  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

On  April  20  one  of  the  canoes  was  all  but  lost  by  the 
falling  in  of  a  large  part  of  the  bank.  ,"The  wind  here  so 
strong  that  we  could  scarcely  make  a  mile  an  hour,  and 
the  sudden  squalls  so  dangerous  to  the  small  boats  that 
we  stopped  for  the  night  .  .  .  not  being  able  to  advance 
more  tran  6l/2  miles. 

On  April  26  the  party  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow 
stone  river. 

[On  May  I4th,  toward  evening,]  the  men  in  the  hindmost 
canoes  discovered  a  large  brown  bear  lying  in  the  open 
grounds,  about  300  paces  from  the  river.  Six  of  them,  all 
good  hunters,  immediately  went  to  attack  him,  and  conceal 
ing  themselves  by  a  small  eminence,  came  unperceived 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI 

within  40  paces  of  him.  Four  of  the  hunters  now  fired, 
and  each  lodged  a  ball  in  his  body,  two  of  them  directly 
through  his  lungs.  The  furious  animal  sprang  up  and  ran 
open-mouthed  upon  them,  as  he  came  near,  the  two  hunters 
who  had  reserved  their  fire  gave  him  two  wounds,  one  of 
which,  breaking  his  shoulder,  retarded  his  motion  for  a 
moment,  but  before  they  could  reload  he  was  so  near  that 
they  were  obliged  to  run  to  the  river,  and  before  they 
reached  it  he  had  almost  overtaken  them.  Two  jumped  into 
the  canoe;  the  other  four  separated  and,  concealing  them 
selves  in  the  willows,  fired  as  fast  as  each  could  reload. 
They  struck  him  several  times;  but  instead  of  weakening 
the  monster  each  shot  seemed  only  to  direct  him  toward 
the  hunters,  till  at  last  he  pursued  two  of  them  so  closely 
that  they  threw  aside  their  guns  and  pouches,  and  jumped 
down  a  perpendicular  bank  of  20  feet  into  the  river.  Tfre 
bear  sprang  after  them  and  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
hindmost,  when  one  of  the  hunters  on  shore  shot  him  in 
the  head  and  finally  killed  him.  .  .  . 

An  accident  of  a  different  nature  on  the  same  day  was 
described : 

This  was  the  narrow  escape  of  one  of  our  canoes,  con 
taining  all  our  papers,  instruments,  medicine,  and  almost 
every  article  indispensable  for  the  success  of  our  enterprise. 
The  canoe  being  under  sail,  a  sudden  squall  of  wind  struck 
her  obliquely  and  turned  her  considerably.  The  man  at 
the  helm,  who  was  unluckily  the  worst  steersman  of  the 
party,  became  alarmed  and  instead  of  putting  her  before 
the  wind  luffed  her  up  into  k.  The  wind  was  so  high  that 
it  forced  the  brace  of  the  square-sail  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
man  who  was  attending  to  it  and  instantly  upset  the  canoe, 
which  would  have  been  turned  bottom  upward  but  for  the 
resistance  made  by  the  awning.  Such  was  the  confusion  on 
board,  and  the  waves  ran  so  high,  that  it  was  half  a  minute 
before  she  righted,  and  then  was  nearly  full  of  water;  but 
by  bailing  out  she  was  kept  from  sinking  until  they  rowed 
ashore.  Besides  the  loss  of  the  lives  of  three  men,  who 
not  being  able  to  swim  would  probably  have  perished,  we 
should  have  been  deprived  of  nearly  everything  necessary 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

for  our  purpose,  at  a  distance  of  between  2,000  and  3,000 
miles  from  any  place  where  we  could  supply  the  deficiency. 

May  25.  Two  canoes  which  were  left  behind  yesterday, 
to  bring  on  the  game,  did  not  join  us  till  eight  o'clock  this 
morning  when  we  set  out  with  the  tow  line,  the  use  of 
which  the  banks  permitted.  •  • 

May  27.  ...  Were  obliged  to  use  the  tow-line  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  day.  The  river  has  become  very 
rapid,  with  a  very  perceptible  descent. 

May  29.  Last  night  we  were  alarmed  by  a  new  enemy. 
A  buffalo  swam  over  from  the  opposite  side  to  the  spot 
where  lay  one  of  our  canoes,  over  which  he  clambered  to 
the  shore;  then  taking  fright  he  ran  full  speed  up  the  bank 
toward  our  fires,  and  passed  within  18  inches  of  the  heads 
of  some  of  the  men,  before  the  sentinel  could  make  him 
change  his  course. 

Until  August  1 8  the  party  continued  on  to  the  extreme 
source  of  the  Missouri.  Fifteen  months  had  elapsed  since 
the  trip  was  begun ;  of  this  time  five  months  were  spent  in 
winter  quarters.  During  the  twelve  months  of  toiling  up 
the  river  they  had  covered  a  little  more  than  the  3000  miles 
from  its  mouth,  near  St.  Louis.  From  there  the  exploring 
party  went  by  land  across  the  Continental  Divide,  seeking 
the  waters  that  led  to  the  Pacific. 


II.    BY  MEANS  OF  CORDELLE  AND  BRIDLE 

All  night  above  their  rocky  bed 
They  saw  the  stars  march  slow; 

The  wild  Sierra  overhead, 
The  desert's  death  below. 

The  Indian  from  his  lodge  of  bark, 

The  gray  bear  from  his  den, 
Beyond  their  camp-fire's  wall  of  dark, 

Glared  on  the  mountain  men. 

They  set  their  faces  to  the  blast, 

They  trod  the  eternal  snow, 
And  faint,  worn,  bleeding,  hailed  at  last, 

The  promised  land  below. 

—John  G.  Whittier. 

THE  next  historic  trip  on  the  Missouri  river  after  the 
days  of  Lewis  and  Clark  was  made  in  the  spring  of  1811, 
when  H.  M.  Brackenridge  accompanied  Manuel  Lisa,  agent 
of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  on  a  trip  up  the  river  in  the 
company's  interest. 

The  voyage  was  made  in  the  keel  boat,  the  representative 
river  craft  of  ante-steamboat  days.2 

It  was  in  this  boat  that  the  merchandise  for  the  trade 
was  transported  to  the  upper  river,  and  it  was  used  on  all 
important  military  and  exploring  expeditions.  It  was  a 
good  sized  boat,  sixty  to  seventy  feet  long,  and  built  on  a 
regular  model,  with  a  keel  running  from  bow  to  stern.  It 
had  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  breadth  of  beam  and  there  was 
a  four  foot  depth  of  hold.  Its  ordinary  draft  was  from 
twenty  to  thirty  inches.  It  was  built  in  accordance  with 
the  practice  of  approved  shipcraft,  and  was  a  good,  stanch 
vessel.  Keelboats  were  generally  built  in  Pittsburgh,  at  a 
cost  of  two  to  three  thousand  dollars. 

283 


284         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

For  carrying  freight  the  keelboat  was  fitted  with  what 
was  called  a  cargo  box,  which  occupied  the  entire  body  of 
the  boat  excepting  about  twelve  feet  at  each  end.  It  rose 
some  four  or  five  feet  above  the  deck.  Along  each  "side  of 
the  cargo  box  was  a  narrow  walk  about  fifteen  inches  wide, 
called  the  passe  avant.  On  special  ^occasions  when  these 
boats  were  used  for  passenger  traffic*  as  on  expeditions  of 
discovery  or  exploration,  they  were  fitted  up  with  cabins 
and  made  very  comfortable  passenger  boats. 

For  purposes  of  propulsion  the  boat  was  equipped  with 
nearly  all  the  power  appliances  known  to  navigation  except 
steam.  The  cordelle  was  the  main  reliance.  This  consisted 
of  a  line  nearly  a  thousand  feet  long,  fastened  to  the  top  of 
a  mast,  which  rose  from  the  center  of  the  boat  to  a  height 
of  about  thirty  feet.  The  boat  was  pulled  along  with  this 
line  by  men  on  shore.  In  order  to  hold  the  boat  from  swing 
ing  around  the  mast,  the  line  was  connected  with  the  bow 
by  means  of  a  "bridle,"  a  short  auxiliary  line  fastened  to  a 
loop  in  the  bow  and  to  a  ring  through  which  the  cordelle 
passed.  The  bridle  prevented  the  boat  from  swinging  under 
the  force  of  the  wind  or  current  when  the  speed  was  not 
great  enough  to  accomplish  this  purpose  by  means  of  the 
rudder.  The  object  in  having  so  long  a  line  was  to  lessen 
the  tendency  to  draw  the  boat  toward  the  shore;  and  the 
object  in  having  it  fastened  to  the  top  of  the  mast  was  to 
keep  it  from  dragging,  and  to  enable  it  to  clear  the  brush 
along  the  bank. 

It  took  from  twenty  to  forty  men  to  cordelle  the  keel- 
boat  along  average  stretches  of  the  river,  and  the  work 
was  always  one  of  great  difficulty.  There  was  no  estab 
lished  towpath  and  the  changing  conditions  of  the  river 
prevented  the  development  of  such  a  path  except  along  a 
few  stable  stretches.  It  was  frequently  necessary  to  send 
men  ahead  to  clear  the  most  troublesome  obstructions  away. 
In  some  places,  where  it  was  impossible  to  walk  and  work 
at  the  same  time,  a  few  men  would  carry  the  end  of  the 
line  beyond  the  obstruction,  and  make  it  fast,  while  the 
rest  would  get  on  board  and  pull  the  boat  by  drawing  in 
the  line.  This  operation  was  called  "warping." 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  285 

In  places  where  the  keel  boat  could  not  be  moved  by 
means  of  the  rope,  eight  or  ten  men  on  each  side  would 
pole  it  along.  The  pole  was  described  thus :  "On  one  end 
was  a  ball  or  knob  to  rest  in  the  hollow  of  the  shoulder  for 
the  voyageur  to  push  against,  and  on  the  other  was  a  wooden 
shoe  or  socket."  The  ball  was  placed  against  the  shoulder, 
while  the  pole  was  inclined  down  stream,  and  the  pole 
bearers  would  walk  along  the  passe  avant  already  described. 
When  the  men  had  walked  as  far  as  they  could,  the  pole  was 
withdrawn,  and  the  men  walked  toward  the  bow,  that  they 
might  be  ready  for  another  push. 

Other  means  of  navigation  were  the  oar  and  the  sail.  By 
means  of  pole  and  cordelle,  oar  and  sail,  some  remarkable 
speed  records  were  attained,  as  will  be  seen  from  Bracken- 
ridge's  narrative. 

The  start  of  Manuel  Lisa  and  Brackenridge  was  made 
from  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  on  April  2,  1811,  twenty-three 
days  after  the  departure  of  the  party  of  another  agent  of 
the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  named  Hunt,  who  was  ac 
companied  by  a  naturalist  named  Bradbury.  It  was  the 
purpose  of  Lisa  to  overtake  the  Hunt  party  before  he 
reached  the  Sioux  Country,  for  he  felt  that  the  safety  of 
his  party  depended  on  the  junction  with  the  larger  advance 
party. 

The  story  of  the  trip  3  is  one  of  the  earliest  records  of 
Missouri  river  travel.  Mr.  Brackenridge  wrote: 

Our  barge  was  the  best  that  had  ever  ascended  the  river, 
and  manned  with  twenty  stout  oars-men.  As  Mr.  Lisa  had 
been  a  sea-captain,  he  took  much  pains  in  rigging  his  boat 
with  a  good  mast,  and  main  and  topsail;  these  being  great 
helps  in  the  navigation  of  this  river.  Our  equipage  is 
chiefly  composed  of  young  men,  though  several  have  al 
ready  made  a  voyage  to  the  upper  Missouri,  of  which  they 
are  exceedingly  proud,  and  on  that  account  they  claim  a 
kind  of  precedence  over  the  rest  of  the  crew.  We  are,  in 
all,  twenty-five  men,  well  armed,  and  completely  prepared 
for  defence.  There  is,  besides,  a  swivel  on  the  bow  of  the 


286        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

V 

boat  which,  in  case  of  attack,  would  make  a  formidable 
appearance;  we  have  also  two  brass  blunderbusses  in  the 
cabin.  .  .  .  These  preparations  were  absolutely  necessary 
from  the  hostility  of  the  Sioux  bands.  .  .  .  The  "greater 
part  of  the  merchandise,  which  consisted  of  strouding, 
blankets,  lead,  tobacco,  knives,  guns}>  beads,  &c.,  was  con 
cealed  in  a  false  cabin.  .  .  . 

We  had  on  board  a  Frenchman  named  Charbonet,  with 
his  wife,  an  Indian  woman  of  the  Snake  nation,  both  of 
whom  had  accompanied  Lewis  and  Clark  to  the  Pacific.  .  .  . 

Thursday  4th.  Last  night  we  were  completely  drenched 
by  the  rain;  the  whole  party,  the  bark  itself,  in  a  bad  con 
dition  this  morning.  .  .  .  Several  deer  seen.  I  observed  on 
the  sand-bars  a  kind  of  scaffold,  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
which  I  was  informed  was  erected  by  the  neighboring 
settlers  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  the  deer  by  moon 
light,  which  usually  come  out  of  the  thickets  at  this  time, 
to  avoid  the  musketoes,  and  to  sport  on  the  smooth  beach : 
the  hunter  ascend  the  scaffold  and  remains  till  the  deer 
approaches. 

Friday  5th.  A  violent  storm  of  rain,  wind  and  thunder 
compelled  us  to  put  to  shore.  .  .  .  The  number  of  trees 
which  had  lately  fallen  into  the  river,  and  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  from  others,  rendered  our  situation  exceed 
ingly  disagreeable.  Towards  evening  a  canoe  with  six  or 
seven  men  passed.  .  .  . 

Saturday  6th.  .'  .  .  Near  Boon's  settlement.  About  sixty 
miles  from  St.  Charles. 

Sunday  7th.  Made  Point  Labadie.  .  .  .  Forty  years  ago 
this  was  thought  a  distant  point  on  the  Missouri,  at  present 
there  are  tolerable  plantations  everywhere  through  the  bot 
tom.  The  carcases  of  several  drowned  buffaloes  passed  by 
us;  it  is  said  that  an  unusual  number  of  them  has  been 
drowned  this  year.  Some  have  been  seen  floating  on  the  river 
at  St.  Louis.  A  gentleman,  lately  descended,  declares  that 
he  counted  forty  on  the  head  of  an  island.  .  .  .  Passed  be 
tween  an  island  and  the  main  shore;  a  very  narrow  chan 
nel,  but  the  current  and  distance  less.  A  channel  of  this 
sort  is  often  taken  in  preference,  and  it  is  one  of  the  means 
of  facilitating  the  ascending  of  this  uncommonly  rapid 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  287 

river:  but  there  is  sometimes  danger  of  the  tipper  end  be 
ing  closed  with  logs  and  billets  of  wood  matted  together, 
as  it  turned  out  in  the  present  instance;  fortunately  after 
the  labor  of  an  hour  we  were  able  to  remove  the  obstacles. 
.  .  .  Having  made  about  fourteen  miles,  we  put  to  shore, 
after  passing  a  very  difficult  embarras  ...  at  the  distance 
of  every  mile  or  two,  and  frequently  at  less  distant  intervals, 
there  are  embarras,  or  rafts,  formed  by  the  collection  of 
trees  closely  matted,  and  extending  from  twenty  to  thirty 
yards.  The  current  vexed  by  these  interruptions  rushes 
around  them  with  great  violence  and  force.  .  .  .  When  the 
oars  and  grapling  hooks  were  found  insufficient,  the  towing 
line  was  usually  resorted  to  with  success.  .  .  .  When  the 
bank  has  not  been  washed  steep,  which  is  most  usually  the 
case,  and  the  ground  newly  formed,  the  young  trees  .  .  . 
which  overhang  the  stream,  afford  much  assistance  in 
pulling  the  boat  along  with  the  hands. 

Monday  8th.  .  .  .  Came  in  sight  of  a  little  village  called 
Charette.  There  are  about  thirty  families  here,  who  hunt, 
and  raise  a  little  corn.  .  .  . 

We  have  been  accompanied  for  these  two  days  past  by  a 
man  and  two  lads,  ascending  in  a  canoe.  This  evening  they 
encamped  close  by  us;  placing  the  canoe  under  shelter  of 
our  boat.  Unsheltered,  except  by  the  trees  on  the  bend, 
and  a  ragged  quilt  drawn  up  over  a  couple  of  forks,  they 
abode  the  pelting  of  the  pitiless  storm  with  apparent  in 
difference.  These  people  were  well  dressed  in  handsome 
home-made  cotton  clothes.  The  man  seemed  to  possess  no 
small  share  of  pride  and  self-importance,  which,  as  I  after 
wards  discovered,  arose  from  his  being  a  captain  of  militia. 
.  .  .  When  we  were  about  to  sit  down  to  supper,  he  retired, 
but  returned  when  it  was  over;  when  asked  why  he  had 
not  staid  to  do  us  the  honor  of  supping  with  us:  "I  thank 
you,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  licking  his  lips  with  satisfaction, 
"I  have  just  been  eating  an  excellent  supper."  He  had 
scarcely  spoken,  when  the  patron  (the  fresh  water  sailing 
master)  came  to  inform  Mr.  Lisa,  they  were  begging  him 
for  a  biscuit,  as  they  had  eaten  nothing  for  two  days !  Our 
visitant  was  somewhat  disconcerted,  but  passed  it  off  with, 
"Poh!  I'm  sure  they  can't  be  suffering!" 


288        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

He  resides  on  the  Gasconade;  was  the  second  family 
which  settled  in  that  quarter,  about  three  years  ago.  He 
has  at  present  about  250  men  on  his  muster-roll.  We  were 
entertained  by  him  with  a  long  story  of  his  having  pursued 
some  Pottawatomies,  who  had  committed  robberies  on  the 
settlement  some  time  last  summer ;  he  made  a  narrow  escape, 
the  Indians  having  attacked  the  party  in  the  night  time,  and 
killed  four  of  his  men,  after  a  desperate  resistance.  The 
captain  had  on  board  a  barrel  of  whiskey  to  set  up  tavern 
with,  a  bag  of  cotton  for  his  wife  to  spin,  and  a  couple  of 
kittens. 

Thursday  nth.  .  .  .  Stopped  a  few  moments  at  the 
cabin  of  a  Frenchman,  who  is  beginning  to  open  a  planta 
tion.  .  .  .  Proceeded  by  land,  across  a  forest,  about  two 
miles  to  the  village  of  Cote  sans  Dessein  ...  a  beautiful 
place  .  .  .  will  in  time  become  a  considerable  village.  Has 
been  established  about  three  years ;  there  are  thirteen  French 
families,  and  two  or  three  of  Indians.  .  .  .  From  their 
eager  inquiries  after  merchandise,  I  perceived  we  are  al 
ready  remote  from  the  settlements. 

Saturday  1 3th.  .  .  .  Made  in  the  course  of  this  day  about 
twenty-eight  miles,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  favor 
able  wind.  Some  of  us  considered  this  good  fortune,  a  re 
ward  for  the  charity  which  was  manifested  by  us  yesterday 
in  spending  an  hour  to  relieve  a  poor  ox,  which  was 
swamped  near  the  bank.  The  poor  creature  had  remained 
here  ten  or  twelve  days,  and  the  sand  into  which  he  had 
sunk,  was  become  hard  and  solid.  The  wolves  had  paid 
him  friendly  visits  from  time  to  time,  to  inquire  after  his 
health,  while  buzzards,  crows,  and  eagles  tendered  their 
salutations  from  the  boughs  of  the  neighboring  trees. 

Sunday  I4th.  .  .  .  There  is  a  flourishing  settlement  here 
[on  the  Missouri  River]  ...  Is  but  one  year  old  ...  it 
consists  of  seventy-five  families,  the  greater  part  living  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  space  of  four  or  five  miles.  .  .  . 
Most  of  them  have  slaves.  .  .  .  We  inquired  for  the  party 
of  which  we  were  in  chase — they  had  passed  nineteen  days 
before  us. 

Monday  I5th.  While  the  men  were  towing,  they  chased 
a  she-bear  into  a  hollow  tree;  we  set  about  chopping  the 


From  Schoolcraft's  "Historical  Condition*  and  Prospects 
of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States" 


BUFFALO   ON   THE    PRAIRIE 


From  a  drawing  by  Catlin 


INDIANS    HUNTING   THE    BUFFALO 


Photograph  />//  the  United  States  Forest  Service 


TJIK    LAST   OF   TI1K    BUFFALO 


Photograph  by  the  United  States  Forest  Service 
'MADAME  CUFF  AGAIX  APPEARED"  [Page  289] 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  289 

tree,  while  several  stood  with  guns  presented  to  the  hole  at 
which  she  had  entered,  about  twenty  feet  up.  In  a  short 
time  she  put  out  her  head  and  shoulders,  but  on  receiving 
a  volley  instantly  withdrew.  The  chopping  was  renewed; 
Madam  Cuff  again  appeared  .  .  .  was  killed  with  a  stroke 
of  an  axe.  ...  In  the  hollow  sycamore  there  were  found 
three  cubs. 

Tuesday  i6th.  ...  As  it  was  resolved  to  tow,  I  set  out 
with  my  rifle,  expecting  to  meet  the  boat  at  the  head  of  a 
long  bend.  This  is  the  first  excursion  I  have  made  into  the 
country.  I  passed  through  the  bottom  with  great  difficulty, 
on  account  of  the  rushes,  which  grow  as  high  as  a  man's 
head  and  are  matted  with  vines  and  briars. 

Wednesday  24th.  Attempted  a  ripple  this  morning,  and 
was  driven  back  five  times — we  had  once  got  within  half 
the  boat's  length  of  being  through ;  the  bars  and  poles  were 
insufficient ;  ten  of  our  men  leaped  into  the  water  with  the 
cordelle,  while  the  rest  exerted  ourselves  with  the  pole,  and 
thus  by  perseverance  became  conquerors.  Passed  a  canoe 
with  four  men  who  had  wintered  up  the  Kansas,  about 
five  hundred  miles ;  they  had  beaver  and  other  furs.  .  .  . 

Thursday  25th.  Came  in  sight  of  Fort  Osage.  ...  A 
number  of  Indians  of  the  Osage  nation  .  .  .  were  scattered 
along  the  bank  .  .  .  some  with  old  buffalo  robes  thrown 
over  their  shoulders,  others  dressed  out  in  the  gayest  man 
ner.  .  .  .  Thus  far  we  have  gained  about  one  hundred 
miles  upon  the  part  of  Hunt. 

Friday,  26th  April.  .  .  .  Passed  a  small  encampment  of 
hunters.  The  Missouri  is  now  what  the  Ohio  was  once,  the 
Paradise  of  hunters.  .  .  .  We  have  now  passed  the  last 
settlement  of  whites.  This  reflection  caused  us  all  to  think 
seriously  of  our  situation.  ...  I  heaved  a  sigh  while  I  re 
flected  that  I  might  never  see  it  [my  country]  or  my  friends 
again;  that  my  bones  might  be  deposited  on  some  dreary 
spot  far  from  my  home,  and  the  haunts  of  civilized  men ; 
but  this  last  suggested  consolation,  there  is  no  spot  however 
distant,  where  I  may  be  buried,  but  will  in  time  be  sur 
rounded  by  the  habitations  of  Americans,  the  place  will  be 
marked,  and  approached  with  respect,  as  containing  the  re- 


290         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

mains  of  one  of  the  first  who  ventured  into  these  distant 
and  solitary  regions! 

Saturday  27th.  .  .  .  Met  a  party  of  traders  in  two  canoes 
lashed  together,  which  form  a  kind  of  raft,  heavily  laden 
with  furs,  and  skins.  .  .  .  They  met  Hunt's  party,  five  days 
ago. 

Saturday  4th.  ...  I  overheard  this  evening,  with  con 
siderable  chagrin,  while  warming  myself  at  the  fire,  some 
bitter  complaints  on  the  part  of  the  men :  they  declared 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  stand  it  long,  that  they 
had  never  so  severe  a  voyage.  .  .  .  Great  exertions  have 
certainly  been  made  and  no  moments  lost,  in  advancing  our 
voyage,  but  much  of  the  time  we  were  carried  along  by  the 
wind,  when  there  was  no  need  for  any  labor  on  the  part 
of  the  men.  The  weather  is  now  fine,  and  their  labor 
diversified,  when  there  is  no  wind,  by  the  pole,  the  oars,  or 
cordelle  which  is  little  more  than  a  promenade  along  the 
sand  bars.  I  represented  these  things  to  them  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  endeavored  to  quiet  their  minds. 

Saturday  nth.  .  .  .  The  river  Platte  is  regarded  by  the 
navigators  of  the  Missouri  as  a  point  of  as  much  importance 
as  the  equinoctial  line  among  mariners.  All  those  who  have 
not  passed  it  before  were  required  to  be  shaved,  unless  they 
could  compromise  the  matter  by  a  treat.  Much  merriment 
was  indulged  in  the  occasion.  From  this  we  enter  what  is 
called  the  Upper  Missouri.  .  .  . 

Monday  2Oth.  Hailed  a  trader,  descending  in  a  large 
canoe,  made  of  skins  of  the  buffaloes,  upwards  of  twenty 
feet  in  length.  .  .  .  These  skin  canoes  are  stretched  over 
the  red  willow,  and  require  to  be  frequently  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  dried,  as  they  would  otherwise  become  too  heavy 
from  the  quantity  of  water  absorbed. 

Thursday  23d.  .  .  .  Espied  a  number  of  persons  on  a 
sand  bar,  which  we  at  first  supposed  to  be  Indians,  but  on 
a  nearer  approach,  recognized  to  be  whites.  Amongst  them 
a  Mons.  Benit,  factor  of  the  Missouri  Company,  at  the 
Mandan  village.  These  men  were  descending  in  a  small 
boat,  with  some  peltries.  He  tells  us  that  the  Indians  are 
ill  disposed  to  the  whites,  everywhere  on  the  Missouri. 

Friday  24th.    A  huge  buffaloe  bull  made  his  appearance 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  291 

on  the  top  of  the  bluff,  standing  almost  at  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  and  looked  down  upon  us.  It  was  the  first  we 
had  seen.  Long  and  matted  wool  hung  over  his  head,  and 
crowned  his  huge  shoulders,  while  his  body  was  smooth, 
as  also  the  tail,  except  a  tuft  on  the  end.  It  was  a  striking 
and  terrific  object. 

Sunday  26th.  Discovered  a  canoe  descending  with  two 
men,  who  prove  to  be  those  sent  by  us,  to  Hunt.  They  bring 
information  that  he  has  agreed  to  wait  for  us  at  the  Poncas 
village. 

Monday  27th.  Arrived  at  the  Poncas  village.  .  .  .  Hunt 
had  not  waited  for  us,  according  to  promise.  Saw  two  men, 
who  had  probably  deserted  from  him — they  informed  us, 
that  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  our  approach,  which  was  quite 
unexpected,  he  had  continued  to  exert  himself  to  the  utmost, 
to  get  out  of  our  reach.  The  fact  is,  there  does  not  exist 
the  greatest  confidence  between  the  two  commanders.  Ours 
seems  to  think  that  it  is  the  ambition  of  Hunt  to  pass  the 
Sioux,  who  may  wish  to  detain  him  by  telling  him  that  their 
trader  is  coming  on  with  goods  for  them.  While  on  the 
other  hand,  Hunt  may  believe  that  Lisa  intends  to  pass 
him,  and  tell  the  same  story.  It  is  therefore  determined  to 
push  our  voyage,  if  possible  still  more  than  before. 

Tuesday  28th.  .  .  .  Continued  under  sail  the  rest  of  the 
day,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  .  .  . 

Wednesday  29th.  .  .  .  Discovered  an  encampment  of 
Hunt,  and  on  examination,  we  discovered  .  .  .  that  the 
fire  was  not  yet  extinguished;  it  is  therefore  but  a  few  days 
since  they  were  here.  Continued  under  sail  until  n  at 
night,  having  in  little  better  than  twenty-four  hours  made 
seventy-five  miles. 

Saturday  June  ist.  At  daylight  heard  a  number  of  guns 
fired  on  the  hills  below  us  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  We 
now  concluded  that  all  our  precaution  and  labor  had  been 
in  vain.  That  we  should  be  robbed  and  killed,  or  at  least 
compelled  to  return.  They  soon  arrived  opposite  to  us,  with 
an  American  flag,  and  fired  one  or  two  guns.  There  was 
but  one  thing  to  be  done,  which  was  to  cross  over  to  them  at 
once,  and  meet  the  worst,  every  man  preparing  himself  for 
defence.  Each  rower  had  his  gun  by  his  side.  Mr.  Lisa 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

and  myself,  besides  our  knives  and  rifles,  had  each  on  a  pair 
of  pistols  in  our  belts.  On  reaching  the  shore  we  discovered 
twelve  or  thirteen  Indians  on  a  log.  Mr.  Lisa  and  I  leaped 
on  shore  and  shook  hands  with  them.  We  supposed  that 
the  principal  body  was  concealed  behind  in  the  woods,  so 
as  to  be  at  hand  if  necessary.  Having  no  interpreter  at  this 
critical  juncture  we  were  fearful  of  not  being  understood: 
however,  with  the  aid  of  signs  .  .  .  Mr.  Lisa  .  .  .  was 
enabled  to  communicate  tolerably  well.  He  told  them  that 
he  was  the  trader,  but  that  he  had  been  unfortunate,  all 
the  peltries  which  he  had  collected  amongst  them  having 
been  burnt,  and  his  young  men,  who  had  passed  2.  years 
before  to  go  to  the  head  of  the  Missouri,  were  attacked  and 
distressed  by  the  Indians  of  those  parts  who  were  bad  peo 
ple.  That  he  was  now  poor,  and  much  to  be  pitied ;  that  he 
was  going  to  bring  back  his  young  men,  having  resolved  to 
confine  himself  to  the  lower  country.  He  concluded,  by 
telling  them  that  he  intended  to  return  in  three  months  to 
establish  a  trading  house  at  the  Cedar  island,  and  requested 
the  chief  to  send  word  of  it  to  all  the  Sioux  bands.  This 
story,  together  with  a  handsome  present,  produced  the  de 
sired  effect,  though  not  without  some  reluctance.  It  is 
two  days  since  Hunt  passed  here. 

Sunday  2d.  .  .  .  With  much  satisfaction  perceived  at  a 
distance  the  boats  of  Mr.  Hunt.  ...  It  appears  .  .  .  that 
we  have  passed  all  the  Sioux  bands,  who  had  been  seen  by 
Hunt,  but  probably  rinding  his  party  too  strong  they  had 
resolved  to  stop  to  plunder  ours,  that  we  must  have  passed 
them  in  the  night,  or  under  sail,  as  {hey  did  not  expect  to 
hear  from  us  so  soon.  Overtook  Mr.  Hunt's  party.  [The 
trip  of  1132  miles  had  taken  sixty-one  days.]  It  was  with 
real  pleasure  I  took  my  friend  Bradbury  by  the  hand;  I 
have  reason  to  believe  our  meeting  was  much  more  cordial 
than  that  of  the  two  commanders.  Continued  under  sail  in 
company  the  rest  of  the  day,  forming  a  handsome  little 
fleet  of  five  sail.  .  .  .  Encamped  twelve  hundred  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

.  .  .  The  party  of  Mr.  Hunt  consists  of  about  eighty  men, 
chiefly  Indians,  the  rest  are  American  hunters. 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  293 

On  June  26  the  company  reached  the  post  of  the  com 
pany,  1,640  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  After 
spending  five  weeks  in  conference  with  the  Arkansas,  Chi- 
enne  and  Mandan  Indians,  Mr.  Brackenridge  and  Mr.  Brad 
bury  set  out  on  their  return,  in  two  boats,  with  six  men  in 
each. 

"My  order  was  to  go  by  day  and  night  if  possible,  and  not 
to  stop  for  any  Indians/*  Mr.  Brackenridge  wrote,  "the 
water  was  extremely  high,  and  with  the  assistance  of  six 
oars,  we  were  able  to  make  little  short  of  twelve  miles_an 
hour." 

The  voyage  was  without  incident.  A  distance  of  one 
thousand  miles  was  covered  in  eight  or  nine  days,  without 
meeting  a  single  soul.  Early  in  August  the  party  arrived  in 
St.  Louis,  having  made  "fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in 
little  better  than  fourteen  days." 


III.     EARLY  STEAMBOATING  ON  THE  MISSOURI 

Ay,  this  is  freedom! — these  pure  skies 

Were  never  stained  with  village  smoke; 
The  fragrant  wind,  that  through  them  flies, 

Is  breathed  from  wastes  by  plow  unbroke. 
Here,  with  my  rifle  and  my  steed, 

And  her  who  left  the  world  for  me, 
I  plant  me,  where  the  red  deer  feed 

In  the  green  desert — and  am  free. 

— William  Cullen  Bryant. 

THE  first  steamboat  appeared  on  the  Missouri  in  1819. 
This  was  the  Independence,  which  ascended  the  stream  about 
two  hundred  miles.  The  Western  Engineer,  a  government 
boat,  went  as  far  as  Council  Bluffs  the  same  year.  Fifteen 
years  passed  before  the  Assiniboine  reached  a  point  about 
a  hundred  miles  above  the  Yellowstone.  In  1853  tne 
El  Paso  ventured  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  far 
ther.  In  the  spring  of  1859  tne  American  Fur  Company's 
steamer  Chippewa  ascended  to  within  fifteen  miles  of  Fort 
Benton,  a  point  3,560  miles  from  the  sea,  and  2,565  feet 
above  sea  level.  In  1860  the  same  vessel  reached  Fort 
Benton  itself,  and  in  1866  a  steamer  reached  a  point  thirty- 
one  miles  above  Fort  Benton. 

William  Cobbet,  the  English  traveler,  who  published  in 
1818  an  account  of  his  visit  to  the  United  States,4  told  of 
seeing  at  Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio  river,  a  steamboat  destined 
for  Missouri  river  transportation: 

The  wheels  are  made  to  work  in  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
so  as  not  to  come  in  contact  with  the  floating  trees,  snags, 
planters,  trees  tumbled  headlong  and  fixed  in  the  river, 
&c.,  obstructions  most  likely  very  numerous  in  that  river. 

294 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  295 

But  the  placing  of  wheels  behind  only  saves  them;  it  is  no 
protection  against  the  boat's  sinking  in  case  of  being  pierced 
by  a  planter  or  sawyer  (the  same  as  a  planter,  only  waving 
up  and  down).  Observing  this,  I  will  suggest  a  plan  which 
has  occurred  to  me,  and  which,  I  think  would  effectually 
provide  against  sinking;  but,  at  any  rate,  it  is  one  which  can 
be  tried  v£ry  easily  and  with  very  little  expense.  I  would 
make  a  partition  of  strong  plank ;  put  it  in  the  broadest  fore 
part  of  the  boat,  right  across,  and  put  some  good  bolts  under 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  through  these  planks,  and  screw 
them  on  the  top  of  the  deck.  Then  put  an  upright  post  in 
the  inside  of  the  boat  against  the  middle  of  the  plank  parti 
tion,  and  put  a  spar  to  the  upright  post.  The  partition  should 
be  water-tight.  I  would  then  load  the  forepart  of  the  boat, 
thus  partitioned  off,  with  lumber  or  such  loading  as  is  least 
liable  to  injury  and  best  calculated  to  stop  the  progress  of 
the  sawyer  after  it  has  gone  through  the  boat.  By  thus  ap 
propriating  the  forepart  of  the  boat  to  the  reception  of 
planters  and  sawyers  it  appears  to  me  that  the  other  part 
would  be  secured  against  all  intrusion. 

John  Lewis  Peyton,  who  was  passenger  on  a  Missouri 
steamboat  in  1848,  gave  a  vivid  picture  of  emigrants  who 
crowded  the  boat.5  Among  them  were  a  number  of  Euro 
peans  who  showed  that  they  had  not  been  long  in  the  coun 
try. 

The  head  of  this  party  .  .  .  wore  a  blue  tail-coat,  cov 
ered  with  grease,  without  a  single  button  and  only  a  remnant 
of  one  tail.  A  pair  of  ancient  cazinet  trousers,  in  tatters  at 
the  feet,  patched  in  the  rudest  manner  on  the  knees  ...  an 
ancient  leather  waistcoat  and  an  apology  for  a  pair  of  boots. 
Scarcely  any  of  the  men,  women  or  children  in  this  party 
were  better  dressed,  but  they  had  been  supplied  in  New 
York  and  St.  Louis  with  a  few  agricultural  implements  and 
carpenters*  tools  and  expected  before  winter  to  build  them 
selves  comfortable  timber  houses  and  to  get  a  considerable 
body  of  land  prepared  for  a  spring  crop.  Fortunately  they 
were  to  join  a  party  of  their  countrymen  who  had  preceded 
them  by  two  years  and  were  prospering  in  their  new  home. 


296        ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

.  .  .  A  half  dozen  raw-boned  Kentuckians,  with  iron  con 
stitutions  and  nerves  apparently  of  whip  cord,  their  wives 
and  children,  were  also  emigrating. 

The  records  of  the  steamboat  men  during  the  early  years 
of  the  steamboats,  especially  those %that  ascended  to  the 
upper  Missouri,  are  full  of  incidents  of  peril  and  danger. 
In  1847  Captain  Joseph  La  Barge  of  the  steamer  Martha 
had  an  exciting  experience  with  Indians  who  were  displeased 
because  a  company  of  government  agents  on  board  had  not 
dealt  with  them  to  their  satisfaction.  While  the  boat  was 
tied  up  at  the  bank,  the  captain  said  to  H.  M.  Chittenden,6  in 
telling  of  the  incident,  there  was  a  sudden  volley  of  fire 
arms  and  the  sound  of  splintered  glass.  This  was  instantly 
followed  by  an  Indian  yell  and  a  rush  for  the  boat.  The 
Indians  got  full  possession  of  the  forward  part  of  the  boat 
and  flooded  the  boiler  grate  with  water,  putting  out  the 
fires. 

The  captain  learned  that  the  Indians  wished  him  to  give 
up  the  boat  to  them.  They  promised  to  spare  all  on  board 
if  he  would  do  as  they  wished,  but  declared  that  if  he  re 
sisted  them  they  would  put  all  hands  to  death. 

After  the  first  rush  the  Indians  seemed  timorous.  But 
Captain  La  Barge  had  no  thought  of  yielding.  In  some  way 
he  would  save  the  lives  of  those  in  charge.  As  the  Indians 
overran  the  boat  he  thought  quickly,  but  no  plan  of  action 
occurred  to  him  until  the  Indians  began  to  hesitate,  as  if 
afraid  to  go  further  in  surroundings  so  strange  to  them. 
The  captain  said,  in  telling  the  story: 

This  gave  me  time  for  effective  measures.  I  had  on  board 
a  light  cannon  of  about  2.^/2  inch  caliber,  mounted  on  four 
wheels.  Unluckily  it  was  at  this  time  down  in  the  engine 
room  undergoing  some  repairs  to  the  carriage.  I  had  in  my 
employ  a  man  on  whom  I  could  absolutely  rely — a  brave 
and  noble  fellow,  Nathan  Grismore,  the  first  engineer. 
Grismore  had  just  finished  the  work  on  the  cannon,  and 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  297 

told  me  he  thought  he  could  get  it  up  the  back  way,  since 
the  fore  part  of  the  boat  was  in  possession  of  the  Indians. 
He  got  some  men  in  line  and  soon  hoisted  the  gun  on  deck 
and  hauled  it  into  the  after  part  of  the  cabin.  I  always  kept 
in  the  cabin  some  powder  and  shot  for  use  in  hunting.  I 
got  the  powder,  but  the  supply  of  shot  was  gone.  Grismore 
promptly  made  up  the  loss  with  boiler  rivets  and  the  gun 
was  heavily  loaded  and  primed,  ready  for  action.  By  this 
time  the  forward  part  of  the  cabin  was  crowded  with  In 
dians,  who  were  evidently  afraid  something  was  going  to 
happen.  I  lost  no  time  in  verifying  their  fears.  As  soon 
as  the  gun  was  loaded  I  lighted  a  cigar,  and  holding  the 
smoking  stump  in  sight  of  the  Indians,  told  Campbell  to  tell 
them  to  get  off  the  boat  or  I  would  blow  them  all  to  the 
devil.  At  the  same  time  I  started  for  the  gun  with  the 
lighted  cigar  in  my  hand.  The  effect  was  complete  and  in 
stantaneous.  The  Indians  turned  and  fled  and  fairly  fell 
over  each  other  in  their  panic  to  get  off  the  boat.  In  less 
time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  not  an  Indian  was  in  sight.  I 
had  the  cannon  brought  to  the  roof,  where  it  remained  for 
an  hour  or  more. 

The  war  with  Mexico,  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Califor 
nia,  the  Mormon  emigration  from  Missouri  to  Utah,  the 
expeditions  to  survey  for  the  railroads  and  to  carry  supplies 
for  them,  and  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Idaho  and  Montana, 
were  the  causes  of  a  continued  boom  in  Missouri  river  trans 
portation  for  a  period  of  thirty  years  from  1846.  During 
the  early  years  of  this  period  the  bulk  of  the  traffic  was 
confined  to  the  lower  river,  but  during  the  later  years  the 
upper  river  shared  in  the  prosperity. 

The  peculiar  situation  of  the  lower  Missouri  with  ref 
erence  to  other  great  arteries  of  exploration  and  emigration 
is  the  explanation  of  the  busy  years  that  followed  1846. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  transportation,  the  West 
ern  Country  in  that  day  can  be  likened  to  a  fan.7  The  handle 
was  that  part  which  extended  from  St.  Louis  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kansas  River.  Thence  the  various  routes  to  all  parts 


298         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

of  the  country  diverged  along  the  arms  of  the  fan,  which 
was  outspread  from  Santa  Fe  on  the  South  to  Fort  Union 
on  the  North.  Most  of  the  business  below  the  point  of 
divergence  was  done  by  steamboat.  Vessels  in  lajge  num 
bers  plied  the  river  over  the  first  five  hundred  miles,  and 
the  amount  of  freight  and  passenger  traffic  carried  by  them 
was  great.  Boats  departed  daily  from  St.  Louis,  carrying 
an  almost  inconceivable  variety  of  articles  for  use  of  the 
emigrants,  and  nearly  as  large  a  variety  of  the  emigrants 
themselves.  To  one  who  witnessed  this  business  in  the 
noontide  of  its  activity,  it  would  have  seemed  scarcely  pos 
sible  that  another  generation  should  witness  its  total  ex 
tinction. 


Emigrants  were  carried  from  St.  Louis  to  Independence 
and  Council  Bluffs,  and  other  new  posts,  and  from  there 
made  their  way  overland.  In  1852  the  Saluda,  heavily 
laden  with  Mormon  emigrants  and  their  goods,  was  delayed 
by  highwater  in  rounding  a  point  near  Lexington,  Missouri. 
After  several  days  the  captain  asked  for  more  steam. 
"We'll  do  it,  if  the  boat  is  blown  to  pieces,"  he  said.  The 
extra  pressure  of  steam  was  given  to  him — and  almost  at 
once  the  boiler  exploded  and  more  than  two  hundred  lives 
were  lost. 

A  few  days  later  an  emigrant  passed  up  the  river.  In  his 
diary  he  said : 


We  get  a  little  scared  sometimes,  for  we  hear  of  so  many 
boats  blown  up.  There  was  another  boat  blown  up  at 
Lexington  last  Saturday,  and  killed  a  hundred  and  fifty 
persons,  the  most  of  which  were  emigrants  for  California 
and  Oregon.  These  things  make  us  feel  pretty  squally,  I 
can  assure  you,  but  it  is  not  the  way  to  be  scared  before 
hand.  So  we  boost  our  spirits  up  and  push  on.  .  .  .  Got 
to  Lexington  at  12  o'clock.  There  we  found  the  wreck  of 
the  boat  that  blew  up  five  days  ago.  There  were  about  200 
people  aboard,  and,  the  nearest  we  could  learn,  about  forty 
persons  were  wounded  and  the  balance  were  killed. 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI 

In  1858  the  demands  of  travel,  most  of  them  due  to  the 
emigrants,  were  so  great  that  there  were  fifty-nine  steam 
boats  on  the  lower  river.  There  were  three  hundred  and 
six  arrivals  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  The  freight  receipts 
at  Leavenworth  that  year  amounted  to  $166,941.35.  In 
1859,  Chittenden  says,  more  steamboats  left  St.  Louis  for 
the  Missouri  than  for  both  the  upper  and  lower  Mississippi. 

In  1865  one  thousand  passengers  went  as  far  as  Fort 
Benton.  One  of  them  was  Judge  Lyman  E.  Munson,  who 
was  commissioned  by  President  Lincoln  as  one  of  three 
United  States  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Montana. 
The  territory  was  then  filling  up  rapidly  because  of  the  gold 
discoveries  there.  Fortunately  Judge  Munson  wrote  an 
account  of  his  journey  by  river.  He  made  these  interesting 
observations  :8 

I  could  gain  but  little  information  by  correspondence  or 
inquiry,  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Territory — 
where  I  should  be  located  when  there  or  the  best  way  to  go. 
Deciding  upon  the  river  route,  I  shipped  by  library  to  St. 
Louis,  taking  a  steamer  there  for  Fort  Benton,  the  head  of 
steamboat  navigation,  three  thousand  miles  distant  by  river 
from  St.  Louis,  and  it  took  over  fifty  days  to  complete  the 
trip,  yet  our  steamer  was  the  crack  boat  on  the  river  that 
season. 

Passing  Yankton,  in  the  lower  part  of  Dakota,  one  thou 
sand  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  by  river  above  St.  Louis, 
we  entered  a  country  filled  with  hostile  Indians.  Military 
forts  and  stockades  were  besieged  by  the  redskins,  and  com 
manders  of  the  forts  tried  to  impress  upon  the  captain  of 
our  boat  the  perils  of  the  trip,  and  it  required  no  stretch  of 
imagination  to  guard  against  possible  adverse  experience  on 
the  way. 

Fort  Rice,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  miles  above  St. 
Louis  by  the  river,  had  been  surrounded  by  them  for  days,  it 
not  being  safe  for  even  picket  men  to  venture  outside  the 
enclosure.  Mooring  our  boats  to  the  shore,  Indians  inter 
preted  our  arrival  as  reinforcements  for  the  fort,  and  .they 
left.  Colonel  Reeves,  commandant  of  the  fort,  showed  us  a 


300         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

poisoned  arrow  taken  from  the  body  of  one  of  his  soldiers 
who  had  died  that  day  in  great  agony  from  its  effects. 

The  pilot  house  of  our  boat  was  sheathed  with  boiler 
iron,  with  peep-holes  to  look  out  for  safe  navigation,  and 
other  precautions  taken  for  safety.  There  was  no*  security 
in  traveling  through  the  Indian  country  at  that  date,  except 
in  large,  well-armed  parties,  and  evep  then  trains  were  fre 
quently  stampeded  by  the  bold  dash  and  dreaded  war-whoop 
of  the  Indians  who  swept  down  like  an  evil  spirit  of  the  wind 
to  help  themselves  to  the  scalps  of  drivers  and  to  plunder 
from  the  trains.  Many  of  this  day  remember  how  fre 
quently  the  coaches  on  the  overland  route  were  attacked  by 
the  Indians,  and  how  startlingly  graphic  were  the  scenes 
described  by  those  who  escaped  the  peril. 

At  night  our  boat  was  anchored  with  sentinels  on  guard 
to  prevent  surprise  or  attack. 

On  our  way  up  the  river  we  encountered  vast  herds  of 
buffaloes  moving  from  southern  to  northern  feeding 
grounds.  The  plains,  at  times,  on  either  side  of  the  river, 
were  literally  covered  with  them  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  They  came  to  the  river  bank  and  plunged  into  the 
sweeping  floods  regardless  of  fear  and  swam  to  the  opposite 
shore  like  veterans  in  their  native  element. 

The  river  was  full  of  them ;  so  full  that  we  were  obliged 
on  different  days  to  stop  the  steamer  to  avoid  being  swamped 
by  them.  On  one  occasion  a  stalwart  fellow  became  enf 
tangled  in  the  wheel  of  the  steamer,  and  in  his  efforts  for 
release,  ripped  out  some  of  the  buckets  of  the  wheel, 
necessitating  repairs.  Some  fat  heifers  and  calves  were 
lassoed  from  the  river  and  killed  for  fresh  meat  for  boat 
supplies.  .  .  . 

In  the  timber  that  fringed  the  river  bank,  otter,  beaver, 
mink  and  muskrat  splashed  into  the  water  on  our  approach. 
Lagoons  and  lakelets  are  alive  with  water  fowl  that  sported 
in  security,  apparently  tame  in  their  wildness.  .  .  . 

At  Wolf  Point,  so  called  on  account  of  the  banks  of  the 
river,  some  wood-choppers  had  built  a  stockade  to  divide 
their  time  in  cutting  wood  for  the  steamer,  and  trapping  for 
furs.  They  killed  a  buffalo,  cut  out  what  meat  they  wanted 
to  use,  and  poisoned  the  carcass  for  the  wolves  The  first 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  301 

night  seventy-two  wolves  came  to  grief.  This  was  the 
largest  wolf -gathering  I  ever  saw.  They  had  come  in  from 
prairie,  ravine  and  timber  nooks  for  a  feast,  and  they  lay 
around  the  stockade  on  our  arrival  at  mid-day  following 
their  adventure.  .  .  .  The  captain  of  our  boat  made  ar 
rangements  with  the  stockade  adventurers  for  the  purchase 
of  the  pelts  on  his  return. 

About  one  hundred  miles  below  Benton,  our  boat 
grounded.  On  board  as  passenger  was  Major  Upson,  In 
dian  agent  at  Benton,  returning  with  annuity  goods  for  dis 
tribution  among  the  Indians  connected  with  the  agency. 
Some  Indians  came  to  the  river  bank  who  knew  the  major. 
He  told  them  what  he  had  on  board,  .  .  .  and  gave  one  a 
letter  to  deliver  with  utmost  speed  to  the  agency  at  Benton. 
After  a  square  meal  for  the  start,  and  a  sandwich  for  the 
way,  the  Indian  started,  leaving  his  three  companions  on 
the  boat  as  hostages  to  await  his  return.  In  two  days  he  re 
turned.  Three  days  later  teams  appeared;  the  boat,  light 
ened  of  freight,  again  steamed  up  the  river.  .  .  . 

After  some  delay  at  Benton  we  started  with  mule  trains 
and  a  prairie  schooner  for  Helena,  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles  distant.  The  trail  was  sufficiently  marked  to  follow. 
We  usually  encamped  for  the  night  about  mid-afternoon, 
near  a  spring  or  water  course.  Wagons  were  drawn  up  in 
a  circle,  horses  tethered  out  for  grazing. 

At  night  horses  were  brought  into  the  enclosed  circle  for 
safety,  passengers  spread  their  blankets  on  the  ground  under 
the  wagons,  trusty  sentinels  kept  watch  .  .  .  while  the  music 
of  howling  wolves  contributed  to  wakeful  hours  of  nervous 
sleepers.  On  Sunday,  June  9,  1865,  we  arrived  at  Helena, 
then  called  Last  Chance  Gulch. 

One  of  the  strangest  events  in  Missouri  river  history 
occurred  in  July,  1867,  when  the  steamer  Trover  was 
wrecked  when  some  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  below 
Fort  Benton.  Fortunately  the  Ida  Stockdale  was  near,  and 
the  passengers  were  taken  off — all  except  two  boys  who  were 
asleep  in  the  hold.9 

On  waking  up  and  finding  themselves  alone,  without  a 
thing  to  eat  or  any  means  of  defense,  and  surrounded  by 


302         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

a  wilderness  wholly  unknown  to  them,  they  were  com 
pletely  paralyzed  by  fright;  but,  recovering  their  presence 
of  mind  they  saw  that  they  must  find  some  relief  imme 
diately  or  they  would  die  of  starvation.  They  left  the  wreck 
and  started  down  the  river.  In  crossing  a  small  tributary  of 
the  Missouri  one  of  the  boys  was  drowned.  The  other  kept 
on  night  and  day,  most  of  the  time* back  from  the  river,  to 
avoid  the  bends  and  the  swamp  and  underbrush.  He  had 
nothing  to  eat  except  a  little  bark  and  some  flower  blossoms 
and  did  not  stop  for  a  moment  for  sleep.  His  keeping  back 
from  the  river  caused  him  to  miss  the  boats  and  trading 
posts.  Finally,  almost  famished  and  exhausted,  he  beat  his 
way  through  a  dense  willow  growth  to  the  bank  of  the  river 
in  the  hope  that  some  boat  would  come  along  before  he 
should  die.  Shortly  afterward  a  steamer  hove  in  sight — 
the  Sunset — on  her  way  up  the  river.  She  was  a  veritable 
sunm^  to  the  poor  boy,  who  began  waving  an  old  white  hat, 
almost  the  only  article  of  clothing  he  had  left.  The  people 
on  the  boat  saw  the  signal  and  sent  the  yawl  out  and  brought 
the  boy  in.  His  face  was  almost  raw  from  mosquito  bites, 
and  he  was  so  weak  that  he  could  scarcely  stand.  He  was 
found  at  a  point  twenty-five  miles  below  Fort  Rice,  or 
642  miles,  by  river  channel,  below  where  the  Trover  was 
wrecked.  He  traveled  this  distance  in  nine  days.  With  all 
the  cut-offs  duly  allowed  for,  he  must  have  averaged  seventy 
miles  a  day  during  this  time,  and  all  the  while  without  food. 
Were  it  not  that  the  facts  seem  well  established,  such  an 
example  of  physical  endurance  would  be  incredible. 

Steamboat  traffic  on  the  upper  Missouri  was  at  its  height 
in  1867.  Before  June  i  of  that  year  forty  steamers  passed 
Sioux  City  on  their  way  up  the  river.  The  fare  for  cabin 
passengers  from  St.  Louis  to  Fort  Benton  was  $300. 

The  strange  contrasts  presented  to  the  eyes  of  those  who 
took  passage  on  the  boats  at  this  period  have  been  described 
by  Chittenden: 

There  were  times  when  thirty  or  forty  steamboats  were 
on  the  river  between  Fort  Benton  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone,  when  all  the  way  the  river  flowed  amid  scenes 


TOILING  UP  THE  MISSOURI  303 

of  wilderness  that  were  in  the  strictest  sense  primeval.  To 
one  who  could  have  set  down  in  the  unbroken  wilderness 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  where  nothing  dwelt  except 
wild  animals  and  wilder  men,  where  the  fierce  Indian  made 
life  a  constant  peril,  where  no  civilized  habitation  greeted 
the  eye,  it  would  have  seemed  marvelous  and  wholly  in 
explicable  to  find  the  river  filled  with  noble  craft,  as  beauti 
ful  as  any  that  ever  rode  the  ocean,  stored  with  all  the 
necessaries  of  civilization,  and  crowded  with  passengers  as 
cultured,  refined,  and  well  dressed  as  the  cabin  list  of  an 
ocean  steamer. 

But  with  the  extension  of  the  railroads  to  the  country 
through  which  Lewis  and  Clark  and  their  successors  for  two 
generations  toiled  for  weary  weeks  and  months,  the  Mis 
souri  river  was  forsaken  by  the  steamboats  and  was  left 
to  the  mercy  of  the  encroaching  sand  bars,  the  crumbling 
banks  and  the  snags  and  sawyers  that  had  vexed  the  soul 
of  thousands  of  pioneers.  Other  trails  of  the  Pioneers  are 
still  in  use.  The  Wilderness  Road  is  a  highway  in  which 
tourists  delight;  the  National  Road  and  the  roads  from 
Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  give  joy  to  the  automobile  tour 
ists;  the  Ohio  river  is  still  a  highway  on  which  a  few 
steamers  float ;  the  Genesee  Road  and  the  Erie  Canal  are  yet 
on  the  map;  sections  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trail,  the  California 
Trail  and  the  Oregon  Trail  are  taken  account  of  by  the 
western  road  traveler.  The  Missouri  alone  is  utterly  neg 
lected  and  forsaken.  On  June  13,  1902,  Congress  abol 
ished  the  Missouri  Commission,  and  so  wrote  the  epitaph 
of  this  great  commercial  highway  of  the  West. 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VIII 
(See  Bibliography) 

1.  "History  of  the  Expedition  to  the  Sources  of  the  Missouri  River," 

Vol.  I,  p.  4. 

2.  "History  of  the  Steamboat  Navigation  of  the  Missouri  River,"  p. 

1 02. 

3.  "Views  of  Louisiana,  Together  with  a  Journal  of  a  Voyage  Up 

the   Missouri   River,"   p.  200. 


304         ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  PIONEERS 

4.  "A  Year's  Residence  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  Part  III 

P.   359- 

5.  "Over  the  Alleghenies  and  Across  the  Prairies,"  p.  260. 

6.  "Early  Steamboat  Navigation  on  the  Missouri  River,"  p.  180. 

7.  Ditto,  p.  174. 

8.  "Reminiscences  of  a  Montana  Judge,"  p.  100. 

9.  "Early  Steamboat  Navigation  on  the  Missouri  River,"  p.  285. 


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INDEX 


Adventures  on  the  Ohio  river,  102 
Albany,  New  York,  144,  147 
Alleghenies,    Crossing   the,  60   ff, 

88 

American  Fur  Company,  209,  204 
Apple  Pies  on  the  plains,  266 
Applegate,  Jesse,  on  Oregon  Trail, 

224 

"Appleseed,  Johnny,"  164 
Arkansas  Indians,  293 
Arkansas  river,  184,  186 
Asheville,  North  Carolina,  262 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  205 
Audubon,  John  J.,  on  Ohio  river, 

119 

Baltimore,  73 

Badger,   Rev.  Joseph,  up  a  tree, 

163 

Baily,  Francis,  114 
Batavia,  New  York,  146 
Bear  fight  in  Missouri,  289 
Bear    hunt,    Trabue's    adventures 

on  a,  43 

Bear  river,  243,  251 
Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  58 
Benton,  Fort,  294,  299,  301,  302 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  185,  246 
Biddle,  Nicholas,  276 
Birkbeck,  Morris,  on  Forbes  Road, 

73 

Birkbeck,  William,  124,  126 
Block  House,  Kentucky,  30 
Boise,  Fort,  206,  213,  214 
Boone,  Daniel,  first  expedition  to 
Kentucky,  17;  in  Tennessee,  17; 
autobiography    of    quoted,    18; 
second    visit   to    Kentucky,   20; 
Commissioned  to  open  Wilder 
ness    Road,    21 ;    captured,  24; 
escape,    25;    life    after    leaving 
Kentucky,     26;     settlement     in 
Missouri,  286 

Boone's  Lick,  Missouri,  185 
Boonesborough,  Kentucky,  22,  24 


Brackenridge,  H.  M.,  on  Missouri 

river,   283 

Braddock,  General,  17,  58 
Braddock's  Road,  51,  54 
British  forts  to  the  North  of  Ohio 

river,  24 

Brown,  Jacob,  19,  20 
Brown,  John   Evans,  on   way  to 

California,  262 

Brown,  William,  emigrant  to  Ken 
tucky,  41 

Brownsville,  Pennsylvania,  51,  56 
Bryant,  Edwin,  on  Santa  Fe  trail, 

197 
Bryant,     Edward,     with    Donner 

party,  254 
Bryant,    William    Cullen,    quoted, 

137,  294 

Buffalo,  21,    I06,  2IO,  222,  226,  227, 
237,    286,    290,    300 

Buffalo  skin  canoes,  290 
Burlington,  Vermont,  169 
Burnett,    Peter    H.,    on    Oregon 

Trail,  221 

Burton,   Richard,  quoted,   181 
Butler,  Laurence,  on  Forbes  Road, 

60 

Cabin   in    Holland    Purchase   de 
scribed,   145 

California,  188,  219,  251 
Calk,  William,  emigrates  to  Ken 
tucky,  38 
Camping  by  the  way,  76,  80,  81, 

84 

Campus   Martius,   The,   106 
Canandaigua,  New  York,  145 
Caravan,  organization  of,  231 
Carleton,  Will,  quoted,  163 
Carlisle,   Pennsylvania,  58 
Carson,   Kit,  242 
Cartwright,   Rev.  Peter,  34 
Case,  William  M.,  on  way  to  Ore 
gon,  226 
Cayuse  Indians,  213 


313 


314 


INDEX 


Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  88 
Chapman,  Jonathan  ("Johnny  Ap- 

pleseed"),  164 
Charles    II    and    the    Claims    of 

Connecticut,  140 
Cherokee  Indians,  16,  17,  20 
Chicago,  167,  169 
Chienne   (Cheyenne)   Indians,  293 
Chittenden,  H.  M.,  296 
Cholera   among  the  emigrants  to 

California,  269 

Chouteau's  Landing,  Missouri,  218 
Churches  on  Wilderness  Road,  35 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  75,  106,  115,  118, 

124,  126,  133,  135 
Cist,   Lewis   C,   quoted,  262 
Clark,  Captain  William,  275 
Clark,  George  Rogers,  23,  26,  99 
Clark,  Lewis  and,  explorers,  205, 

226,  275,  303 
Cleaveland,  Moses,  leads  company 

from  New  England  to  Ohio,  148 
Cleveland,  Ohio,   founded,   150 
Cobbett,  William,  54,  81,  125,  294 
Coke,    Henry    J.,    adventures    on 

Oregon   Trail,  238 
Columbia  river,  205,  212,  219,  238, 

245 

Comanche  Indians,  185 
Conant,  A.  H.,  pioneer  diary  of, 

168 

Conestoga  Road,  58 
Connecticut  Claims,  140,  143 
Connecticut  Land  Company,  143 
Connecticut,  New,  69 
Corduroy  road  described,  146 
Cosgrove,  Hugh,  on  Oregon  Trail, 

236 

Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  240,  294,  298 
Council  Grove,  Kansas,  193 
Crab  Orchard,   Kentucky,  31,  35, 

46 

Craig,  Nicholas,  in  Oregon,  216 
Cumberland,  Fort,  51 
Cumberland  Gap,  17,  20,  38,  43,  45 
Cumberland,    Maryland,   53 
Cumberland  river,  28,  129 
Cumberland  Road,  53,  54 
Cushutunk,  settlement  of,  141 
Cutler,   Ephraim,   on  the  way  to 

Ohio,    no 

Dalles,  The,  245 

Danvers,  Massachusetts,  105 

Delaware  Company,  141 


Delaware  Indians,  142 

Denman,  Matthias,  107 

DeSmet,  Father,  206 

Detroit,  24,  25,  149,   165,  166,   169 

DeWees,  Mrs.  Mary,  on  Forbes 
Road,  62 ;  on  Ohio  river,  103 

DeWees,    W.    B.,    journey    from 

Nashville  to  the  Ohio  river,  129 

Doane,  Timothy's  family's  trip  to 
Ohio,  152 

Donelspn,  Colonel,  leads  river 
party  to  Nashville,  28 

Donner,  Eliza,  252 

Donner  Lake,  California,  261 

Donner,  Mrs.  George,  letter  to 
Illinois,  256 

Donner  party  organized,  252 ; 
wagons  described,  253,  254;  gov 
ernment  of,  255 ;  crossing  the 
Big  Blue,  255 ;  on  Hastings  Cut 
off,  257;  in  the  desert,  258;  over 
taken  by  snow,  259;  fate  of, 
261 

Drake,  Samuel  Adams,  53 

Drivers,  skilful,  81 

Dunleith   (Galena),  Illinois,  178 

Du  Puy,  Bartholomew,  on  Ohio 
river,  101 

Du  Quesne,  Fort,  17,  59 

Durham  boats  on  Wisconsin  river, 
170 

Dwight,  Margaret,  Crossing  the 
Alleghenies,  69 

Dwight,  President,  on  Genesee 
Road,  146 

Earthquake  of  1811,  120,  135 
Edinburgh     Review,     quoted     on 

Oregon,  214 

Edwards  County,  Illinois,  124 
Elk  Horn  river,  241 
Emigration,  magnitude  of,  29,  74, 

79,  82,  84,  89,  91,  92,   109,   116, 

176,  237,  246,  295 
English  Prairie,  Illinois,  124,  126, 

127 

English  Station,  Kentucky,  36 
Erie  Canal,  the,  154,  156,  158,  161 
Erie,  Lake,  105,  143,  148 
Espy,  Joseph,  on  the  Ohio  river, 

US 
Estes,  Dr.,  describes  trip  on  Erie 

Canal,   158 
Expense  of  trip  from  Connecticut 

to  Marietta,  Ohio,  no 


INDEX 


315 


Falls  of  the  Ohio,  22,  101,  108, 
116 

Family  worship  at  an  Indian  fire 
side  in  Oregon,  216 

Farnham,  Thomas  J.,  189,  214,  251 

Faux,  W.,  on  National  Road,  55 

Fearon,  Henry  Bradshaw,  on 
Forbes  Road,  79 

Fifield,  Elbridge  E.,  on  way  from 
Vermont  to  Wisconsin,  169 

Filson,  John,  27,  61,  100 

Finley,  John,  accompanies  Daniel 
Boone  to  Kentucky,  17 

Fire  destroys  pioneer's  posses 
sions,  174 

"Fire  Lands,"  the,  143 

Flatboat  described,  97 

Flathead  Indians,  212 

Flint,  James,  on  road  to  Pitts- 
burg,  82 

Fort  Hall  Emigrant  Road,  257 

Foote,  Sarah,  diary  of  on  way  to 
Wisconsin,  172 

Forbes,  General,  58 

Forbes  Road,  stations  on,  59;  im 
migrants  on,  60 

Fordham,  Elias  Pym,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  123 

Forman,  Ezekiel,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  112 

Forty  Fort,  defense  of,  142 

Fourth  of  July,  on  Oregon  Trail, 
210 

France  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  59 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  19 

Franklin,  Missouri,  187,   188 

Fur  Company  of  St.  Louis,  219 

Furniture  cast  out  by  emigrants 
on  Oregon  Trail,  234 

Gallatin,   Albert,  53 

Gasconade  river,  288 

Genesee  Country,  New  York,  143 

Genesee  Road  authorized,  145 

Geneva,  New  York,  145 

Girdled  Road  to  Cleveland,  150 

Glade  Road,  58,  59 

Grave,  on  road  to  Oregon,  232; 

on  road  to  California,  255 
Gray,   W.    H.,   on    Oregon   Trail, 

209 

Great  Salt  Lake,  256 
Great  Western  Turnpike,  146 
Green  river,  219,  243 
Greenville,  Kentucky,  19 


Hall,  Baynard  Rush,  86 

Hall,  Captain  Basil,  on  Erie  Canal, 

158 
Hall,  Fort,  206,  213,  216,  222,  224, 

242,  243,  251 
Hall,   Judge,   quoted,   89;   on   the 

Ohio  river,  128 

Haraszthy,    Count   Agoston,    173 
Harmar,  Fort,  106 
Harrison,  William  Henry,  107,  226 
Harrodsburg,  Kentucky,  23 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  106 
Hastings   Cut-off,  Donner  party's 

adventures   on,  257 
Hastings,  Lansford  W.,  257 
Helena,  Montana,  301 
Henderson,    Colonel   Richard,   20, 

24 

Henderson,   Kentucky,   118,   119 

Henry,  Patrick,  23 

Hervey,  Daniel,  on  Forbes  Road, 
64,  66 

Hervey,  Sarah,  on  Forbes  Road,  64 

Holland  Purchase,  the,  143,  145 

Holston  river,  19 

Hough,  Joseph,  on  Ohio  river,  117 

Houses  of  pioneers,  66,  78 

Hubbell,  Captain  William's  ad 
venture  with  Indians,  114 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  209,  212, 
224 

Humboldt  river,  251,  270 

Hunt,  Wilson  Price,  and  the  Ore 
gon  Trail,  205 

Hunt  party,  chased  and  overtaken 
by  Lisa  and  Brackenridge,  292 

Hunters  on  the  Missouri  river, 
289 

Hurricane  on  the  Ohio,  127 

Idaho,  207 

Imlay,  George,  29,  68 
Independence,  Fort  (Ohio),  149 
Independence,   Missouri,   187,   188, 

218,  221,  226,  230,  262,  298 
Independence  Rock,  270 
Indians:  Iroquois,  16;  Cherokees, 

16,  17,  20;  Delawares,  142;  Six 

Nations,   149;   Comanches,   185; 

Pawnees,     195;    Mandans,    205, 

207,  275,  280;  Nez  Perces,  207; 

Flathead,     212;     Cayuse,     213; 

Sioux,  227,  276,   279,   291,   292; 

Pottawatomies,  281 ;  Osage,  289 ; 

Arkansas,  293 


316 


INDEX 


Indians :  Boone's  and  Finley's  ad 
ventures  with,  17;  attack 
Boonesborough,  24 ;  capture 
Daniel  Boone,  24;  Trabue's  ad 
ventures  with,  42,  43 ;  adventure 
with,  103;  attack  emigrants,  113, 
114;  sell  lands  to  Delaware 
Company,  141 ;  pioneer's  adven 
tures  with,  163;  attack  Santa  Fe 
caravans,  185;  appeal  for  the 
Bible,  207;  kill  the  Whitmans, 
239;  troublesome  to  California 
party,  268;  attack  steamboat, 
296 

Indiana  Territory,  116 

Inns,  described,  69,  70,  84 

Iowa,  settlement  of,  begun,  176 

Iroquois  Indians,   16 

Iroquois  trail,  143 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  53 

Jennings,  John,  trip  on  the  Ohio 

river,  97 

Jones,  Charles  A.,  quoted,  229 
Jones,  David,  on  the  Ohio  river, 

99 

Jones,  John  Rice,  on  Forbes  Road, 
61 

Kanawha   river,  99 

Kansas  river,  263,  276 

Kaye,  John  Krayshaw,  quoted,  183 

Kearney,  Fort,  245 

Keelboat   described,   97,    112,   128, 

283 
Kennedy,  J.  H.,  describes  journey 

on  Genesee  Road,   144 
Kentucky,  16,  17,  23,  32 
Kentucky  flat  boat,   100,   108,   no 
Kentucky  Gazette,  quoted,  31 
Kentucky   Historical    Society,  27 

La  Barge,  Captain  Joseph,  296 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  51,  5^,  86, 

116 
Lands,  prices  of :  in  Kentucky,  32 ; 

in    Miami    Settlement,    67;     in 

Pennsylvania,  67 ;  in  Illinois,  76 ; 

in  Ohio,  77;  near  Wheeling,  99 
Lapwai,  Idaho,  213 
Laramie,  Fort,  209,  241,  256,  264, 

269 

Larcom,  Lucy,  quoted,  138 
Latrobe,  B.  H.,  on  National  Road, 

71 


Leavenworth,  Kansas,  299 

Lee,   Daniel,  on  way  to   Oregon, 

207 
Lee,  Jason,  missionary  to  Oregon, 

207 
Lewis    and    Clark,   205,   226,   275, 

286,  303 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  Captain,  275 
Lewistown,  New  York,  149 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  1805,  116 
Lexington,  Missouri,  298 
Licking  river,  Ohio,  106 
Ligonier,   Fort,   58 
Limestone,  Kentucky,  103 
Lincoln  Highway,  27 
Lisa,  Manuel,  283 
Little   Missouri   river,  280 
Logan,  Richard,  22 
Longfellow,     Henry    Wadsworth, 

quoted,  203 
Louisville,   Kentucky,   18,  99,   113, 

118,  135 
Losantiville,     Ohio     (Cincinnati), 

Curious  derivation  of  name,  106 
Loupe  Fork,  Nebraska,  209 
Loveland,  Amos,  on  Genesee  Road, 

145 
Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania,  141 

McConnelstown,  Pennsylvania,  73, 

83 

Mackay,  Charles,  quoted,   15,  273 
McKay,  James,  on  the  Columbia, 

238 

McKee's  Island,  Pittsburg,  103 
Madison,  Indiana,  75 
Mandan,   Fort,  280 
Mandan    Indians,    205,    275,    280, 

293 

Marietta,  Ohio,  105,  106,  no,  in 
Marshall,  John,  discoverer  of  gold 

in  California,  227 
Martin,  Joseph,  16 
Martineau,  Miss  Harriet:  on  Erie 

Canal    160;    on   Great   Western 

Turnpike,   146 
Matthews,   Lois   Kimball,  quoted, 

156 

May,  Colonel  John,  67,  107 
Mayflower,  barge  for  pilgrims  to 

Ohio,  106 

Maysville,  Kentucky,  ill 
Meek,  Joseph,  on  National  Road, 

56;  on  Oregon  Trail,  216 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  118 


INDEX 


317 


Miami  Settlement,  67 
Michaux,  F.  A.,  68 
Michigan's  boom  begins,  157 
Miller,  Joaquin,  quoted,  249,  275 
Minnesota  admitted  as  a  state,  178 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,   173 
Mississippi  river,  98,  129 
Missouri  Fur  Company,  283 
Missouri    river :    crookedness    of, 

278;  escape  in  crossing  the,  245; 

navigation,  causes  of   boom  in, 

297;     navigation     hindered     by 

trees,  287;  neglect  of,  303 
Mohawk,   New  York,   147 
Mormons,    feared    by    traders    to 

Santa  Fe,  198;  on  Oregon  Trail, 

242 
Moses,   Why   General   Cleaveland 

was  called,  150 

Munson,  Judge  Lyman  E.,  299 
Munro,    Jesse,    journey   of,    from 

Buffalo  to  Michigan,  165 
Muskingum  river,  Ohio,  105,  106, 

108,  in 

Nashborough     (Nashville),    Ten 
nessee,  founded,  28 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  129 
Natchez,  Mississippi,  112,  118,  129, 

135 

National  Road,  53,  54,  86 
"Navigator,"    the    Pittsburg,    122, 

123 

Naylor,  James  Ball,  quoted,  79 
Nebraska  river,  256 
New   Madrid,   Missouri,   118,   121, 

135 

New  Orleans,  77,  115,  136,  269 
New    Orleans,    first    Ohio    river 

steamboat,  135 

Nez  Perces  Indians,  207,  211 
Niagara,  New  York,  147,  148,  149 
Niles,  Michigan,  167 
Nolichucky  river,   19,  20 
North  Mountain,  road  building  on, 

65 

North  Carolina,  19 
Nuttall,  Thomas,  86,  127 

Ohio,    advantages   of,   over   other 

states,  150,  151 
Ohio  becomes  a  state,  150 
Ohio  Company,  23,  105 
Ohio  river,  68,  97,  114 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  227 


Ontario,  Lake,  148 

Oregon  Country  dedicated  to  God, 

210 
Oregon,  how   territory  was  won, 

246 

Oregon  Trail,  205,  220,  251 
Orleans  boats,  123 
Osage,  Fort,  289 
Osage  Indians,  289 
Oswego,     New     York,     147,     148, 

149 
Overland  Trail,  route  of,  251 

Pacific  Fur  Company,  205 

Packsaddle  described,  29,  30,  219 

Panama,  Isthmus  of,  268 

Parkman,  Francis,  quoted,  59,  229 

Paulding,  John  Kirke,  quoted,  49 

Pawnee  Indians,  195 

Peabody,  Ephraim,  quoted,  58 

Penn,   William,   141 

Pennamite  Wars,  142 

Pennsylvania,  Connecticut's  Claims 
to  part  of,  141 

Pennsylvania,  Fort,  142 

Pennsylvania  State  Road,  59 

Peyton,  John  Lewis,  295 

Philadelphia,  77 

Pirogue  on  Missouri  river,  275 

Pitt,  Fort,  99 

Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  61,  75, 
86,  97,  100,  115,  125,  128,  148. 

Platte,  Fort,  227 

Platte  river,  221,  222,  233,  234,  240, 
277,  290 

Polk,  James  K.,  56 

Pottawatomie  Indians,  288 

Powell's  Valley,  16 

Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin,  178 

Prairie  Village  (Waukesha),  Wis 
consin,  170 

Princeton,  Indiana,  126 

Putnam,  General  Rufus,  petitions 
Congress  to  give  lands  to  Revo 
lutionary  soldiers,  105 

Quitman,  John  A.,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  128 

Read,  Thomas  Buchanan,  quoted, 

95 

Red  River  Raft  described,  130 
Redstone,  Old  Fort,  Pennsylvania, 

51,  54,  69,  100,  101 


318 


INDEX 


Reed,  Virginia,  with  Donner  party, 
252 

Reed,  James  F.,  with  Donner 
party,  252 

Rice,  Fort,  299 

Richland,  Michigan,   165 

Robertson,  Chief  Justice,  quoted, 
3i 

Robertson,  James,  founds  Nash 
ville,  28 

Rock  Island,  Illinois,  178 

Rome,  New  York,  147,  156 

Roosevelt,  Nicholas  J.,  and  first 
steamboat  on  the  Ohio  river,  134 

Russell,  James,  goes  to  Ohio,  152 

Sacramento,  California,  269 

Sacramento  Valley,  251 

St.  Charles,  Missouri,  285 

St.    Clair,    General,    Governor   of 

Northwest  Territory,   106,   150 
St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  in 
Santa   Anna,    President,   and   the 

Santa  Fe  traders,  187 
Santa  Fe,  Mexico,  first  American 

traders     to,     183;     growth     of 

trade  to,  187;  traders  to,  camp 

described,  193,   198;   mentioned, 

229 

St.   Joseph,   Michigan,    169 
St.  Joseph;  Missouri,  237,  239 
St.  Joseph  Trail,  231 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  238,  239,  269, 

276,  298,  299 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  149 
Sauk  City,  Wisconsin,  174 
Schenectady,  New  York,  144,  147 
Schultz,   Christian,  Jr.,   on   Great 

Western  Turnpike,  147 
Schuyler,   Fort,    145 
Scioto  river,  Ohio,  105 
Shawneetown,  Illinois,  76,  78,  118 
Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania,  68 
Shreve,     Captain,    and    the     Red 

River  Raft,  132 

Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  260,  270 
Sioux  Indians,  227,  276,  279,  291, 

292 

Six  Nations,  treaty  with,  149 
Smith,  Sara  L.   P.,  quoted,  125 
Snake  river,  212,  244 
Spalding,  Dr.  H.  H.,  208,  238 
Spalding,  Mrs.  H.  H.,  208 
Spencer,  Mrs.  Caroline,  describes 

trip  on  Erie  Canal,  160 


Springfield,  Illinois,  252 

Stage,  journey  by,  from  Philadel 
phia  to  Pittsburg,  87 

Stanwix,  Fort,  Treaty  of,  1768,  16 

Starving  on  the  Wilderness  Road, 
36;  on  Oregon  Trail,  245;  on 
California  Trail,  266  • 

Steamboat:  at  Natchez,  129;  first, 
described,  133;  first  on  Great 
Lakes,  153;  first  on  Missouri 
rivef,  294;  explosion  of,  298 

Stone,  Colonel  William  L.,  de 
scribes  trip  on  Erie  Canal,  159 

Stoner,  Michael,  20 

Stow   Castle  built,  149 

Stroudsburg,    Pennsylvania,   142 

Surveys  of  lands  forbidden  in 
1763,  1 6 

Susquehanna  Company,  141 

Susquehanna  river,  62 

Susquehanna,  state  of,  organized, 
143 

Sutter's  Fort,  California,  259 

Sweetwater  Valley,  270 

Sycamore  Shoals,  20 

Symmes,  John  Cleve,  107 

Tallis's  Chant  repeated  by  Indians, 
216 

Taylor,  Bayard,  quoted,  236,  268 

Tennessee,  Boone  in,  17 

Tennessee  river,  28,   129 

Texans  attack  Caravans  to  Santa 
Fe,  187 

Thomas,  David,  126 

Thomas,  Frederick  W.,  quoted,  28, 
189 

Thurston,  Mrs.  Laura  M.,  quoted, 
218 

Trabue,  Daniel,  diary  of,  quoted, 
42;  on  the  Ohio,  101 

Trabue,  Edward,  103 

Trabue,  James,  42 

Transylvania,  settlement  of,  21 ; 
first  government  of,  22;  admis 
sion  to  Union  opposed,  22 

Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  1768,  16; 
Virginia's  treaty  with  Chero- 
kees,  1770,  17;  Colonel  Hender 
son's  treaty  of  1775  with  Chero- 
kees,  20;  Moses  Cleaveland's 
treaty  with  Red  Jacket,  149 

Troy,  New  York,  169 

Truckee  river,  251 

Truckee  Pass,  251 


INDEX 


319 


Trumball  County,  Ohio,   created, 

150 
Tupper,  Rufus,  105 

Umatilla    river,   238 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  53 
Utica,  New  York,  147,  156 

Van  Dyke,  Henry,  quoted,  38 
Venable,  William  H.,  quoted,  153 
Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  118 
Virginia,  17 

Wabash  river,  77V  126 

Wagon  of  Marcus  Whitman,  209, 
212,  214,  216 

Wagoner,  bills  of,  71 

Waiilatpu,  Oregon,  213,  216,  223, 
228  ; 

Walk-in-the-Water,  first  steam 
boat  on  Great  Lakes,  153 

Walla  Walla,  Fort,  223 

Warren,   Ohio,   150 

Warrior's   Path,  Kentucky,  21 

Washington,  District  of,  19 

Washington,  George,  52,  57,  66 

Washington,  Pennsylvania,  53,  75 

Washington's  Bottoms,  66 

Washington,  Whitman  goes  to,  in 
behalf  of  Oregon,  223 

Washington  State,  207 

Watson,  Elkanah,  144 

Wayne  County,  Pennsylvania,  141 

Watauga  Association,  19,  28 

Watauga  river,  19,  20 

Weber  Canon,  257 

Wellington,  Ohio,   172 


Western  Reserve,  origin  of,  143 
Westpprt     (Kansas    City),     Mis 
souri,  188,  218 
Wheelbarrow,  going  to  California 

with  a,  241 
Wheeling,  Virginia,  53,  56,  97,  99, 

115,  294 

Whitman,  Dr.  Marcus,  208,  222, 
223,  224,  225,  238:  Mrs.  Marcus, 
208 

Whitman,  Walt,  quoted,  13,  197 
Whittier,  John  G.,  quoted,  283 
Wilderness  Road,  22,  26,  27,  28,  33 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  141 
Willamette  river,  208 
Wills  Creek  Road,  51,  54 
Wilson,  Alexander,  on  the  Ohio 

river,  121 

Wisconsin  made  a  state,  178 
Wisconsin     river     transportation, 

170 
Wislizenus,     F.     A.,    on    Oregon 

Trail,  218 

Woods,  John,  length  of  his  jour 
ney   from    England   to   Illinois, 
127  ^ 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  142 

Yankton,  Dakota,  299 
Yellowstone  river,  280,  302 
Yadkin  river,  North  Carolina,  20 
Yough,  Forks  of,  66 
Youghiogheny  river,  51,  106 

Zane's  Road  opened,  in 
Zanesville,   Ohio,   75 


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4 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


